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Biomedical subjects

J Reid

Publications and source records attributed to J Reid.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Yeast alpha-mating factor receptor and G-protein-linked adenylyl cyclase inhibition requires RAS2 and GPA2 activities.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae expresses two RAS gene products (RAS1 and RAS2) highly homologous to mammalian p21ras which mediate glucose-stimulated cyclic-AMP formation. Mating pheromone inhibits RAS-linked adenylyl cyclase activation and this is dependent upon the alpha-factor receptor (STE2) and its associated G-protein beta-subunit (STE4). We now show that this pheromone effect is independent of mating pathway signalling components "downstream" of STE4 but displays an absolute requirement for an additional G-protein alpha-subunit encoded by GPA2. alpha-mating factor effects also involve a specific suppression of normal RAS2 activity as the constitutively activated mutant RAS2vall9 as well as wild type. RAS1 are insensitive to inhibition. Interaction between GPA2, STE4-STE18, RAS2 and adenylyl cyclase in yeast could give important insight into signalling pathways controlling normal and oncogenic p21ras activity in man.

Adenylyl Cyclase Inhibitors↗
PubMed1992

Effect of unexpected demolition announcement on health of residents.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of an unexpected announcement of the demolition of a housing estate on the health of the area's residents. DESIGN: Study of general practitioner consultation rates of the estate's residents after the announcement compared with those of other areas and with those of the previous year. SETTING: General practices in Runcorn, Cheshire. PATIENTS: 17,000 patients on lists of the two group practices serving the estate and surrounding area. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Relative weekly consultation rates with general practitioners. RESULTS: The mean adjusted odds ratio for consultation was 1.12 (SD 0.12) when demolition was expected and 0.877 (0.05) when it was not (t = 5.94, p less than 0.001). The difference remained after the adjustment for the fall in the estate's population was removed (t = 3.7, p less than 0.01). CONCLUSION: Announcement of the estate's demolition adversely affected residents' health.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1992

AI/Learn/Rheumatology. A computer-assisted educational system for teaching about rheumatic diseases.

Education of health professionals about the rheumatic diseases is in need of improvement. The computer is an instrument that can be used efficiently to educate large numbers of users. With specific educational principles in mind, we developed AI/Learn/Rheumatology, a computer-assisted interactive videodisc system for teaching the rheumatic diseases. While interacting with the user, it conveys knowledge using visual and problem-solving techniques. The system is efficient, enjoyable to use, and useful for small groups and independent study. It is applicable for teaching medical and allied health professional students, postgraduate trainees, and primary care physicians.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗
PubMed1992

Continuous extradural analgesia: comparison of midwife top-ups, continuous infusions and patient controlled administration.

We have compared three techniques used to provide extradural analgesia during the first stage of labour: 0.25% plain bupivacaine 10 ml demand top-ups delivered by the midwife; continuous infusion of 0.125% plain bupivacaine 10 ml h-1; and patient-controlled extradural analgesia (PCEA) delivering 3-ml boluses of 0.25% bupivacaine. Each technique produced comparable analgesia achieving equivalent maternal satisfaction, with no difference in mode of delivery and no complications. This regimen for PCEA proved a viable alternative for continuous extradural analgesia and was popular with the mothers, midwives and anaesthetists.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Joint hypermobility in adults referred to rheumatology clinics.

Joint hypermobility is a rarely recognised aetiology for focal or diffuse musculoskeletal symptoms. To assess the occurrence and importance of joint hypermobility in adult patients referred to a rheumatologist, we prospectively evaluated 130 consecutive new patients for joint hypermobility. Twenty women (15%) had joint hypermobility at three or more locations (greater than or equal to 5 points on a 9 point scale). Most patients with joint hypermobility had common musculoskeletal problems as the reason for referral. Two patients referred with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis were correctly reassigned a diagnosis of hypermobility syndrome. Three patients with systemic lupus erythematosus had diffuse joint hypermobility. There was a statistically significant association between diffuse joint hypermobility and osteoarthritis. Most patients (65%) had first degree family members with a history of joint hypermobility. These results show that joint hypermobility is common, familial, found in association with common rheumatic disorders, and statistically associated with osteoarthritis. The findings support the hypothesis that joint hypermobility predisposes to musculoskeletal disorders, especially osteoarthritis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Diagnostic tests for Helicobacter pylori: comparison and influence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

AIMS: To evaluate the efficacy of culture, histology, CLO-test, Helico-G and Pyloriset tests in diagnosing Helicobacter pylori in the presence or absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). METHODS: Of 134 patients studied, 75 had taken NSAIDs. At endoscopy, biopsy specimens were taken for culture, histology, and CLO-test. Blood was also taken for enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Helico-G) and latex agglutination (Pyloriset) tests. RESULTS: The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of histology and CLO-test, compared with culture, ranged from 90% to 97%, regardless of NSAID intake. In the 59 patients not taking NSAIDs Helico-G had a sensitivity of 75% (p < 0.05) and a specificity of 61%; Pyloriset's sensitivity and specificity were, respectively, 63% (p < 0.05) and 67%. In the 75 patients taking NSAIDs the sensitivity of Helico-G was 81% and its specificity 45% (p < 0.05); Pyloriset had a sensitivity of 61% (p < 0.05) and a specificity of 50% (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that H pylori is more reliably diagnosed by culture, histology, and CLO-test than by the serological tests used in this study, especially in patients treated with NSAIDs.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Reproductive performance of inbred congenic Leghorns carrying different haplotypes for the major histocompatibility complex.

Twelve congenic lines of White Leghorn chickens carrying distinct haplotypes of the MHC (B blood group) but sharing a common genetic background from a highly inbred line (UCD 003) were compared. Each of the lines had been bred back to Line UCD 003 for five generations before intercrossing its members to establish its distinct genetically homozygous MHC type. Seven generations of these congenic lines were compared between 1981 and 1987 for fertility, hatchability of fertile eggs, egg production, mortality to 40 wk of age, 40-wk egg weight, and 40-wk body weight. Statistically significant differences between MHC haplotypes were found for all traits except fertility.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Effects of heterozygosity of major histocompatibility complex haplotypes on performance of Leghorn hens sharing a common inbred background.

Four sets of diallele crosses between partially congenic lines of Leghorns differing in their MHC haplotypes (B blood group) were made in 4 successive yr. Hens heterozygous for B haplotypes resulting from the crosses were then compared with those representing the homozygous congenic parent lines. Heterozygotes superior in performance to the average of their parental homozygotes were found to occur predominantly for survivor egg production, egg weight, and viability to 40 wk of age. Body weight of adult hens showed least heterosis. Surprisingly few crosses produced heterozygous embryos with superior hatchability, although heterotic combinations did exist. Additive differences between parent homozygotes were of greater magnitude than dominance effects measured as average excess of heterozygotes over homozygote averages of parents. A control genotype heterozygous for the B2/BQ combination was included in all tests and proved heterotic in most cases. This same genotype also had been found to confer resistance to Marek's disease under experimental inoculation.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Effects of intracisternal endothelin-1 injection on blood flow to the lower brain stem.

The central effects of endothelin-1 (Et-1, 10-30 pmol in 2.5 microliters injected intracisternally) have been investigated in the conscious rat. With 10 and 20 pmol Et-1, no significant change in blood pressure was observed. With 30 pmol Et-1, mean arterial blood pressure rose by 40 +/- 10 mm Hg with an accompanying modest, short-lived bradycardia at 2 min post-injection. Cerebral blood flow [( 14C]iodoantipyrine autoradiography), measured simultaneously with the hypertensive response, was markedly reduced throughout the caudal medulla and cerebellum (by up to 85%), while significant hyperaemia was evident in a number of forebrain structures (e.g. an increase of 78% in sensorimotor cortex). These observations have relevance to two distinct scientific areas. Concerning the significant effect of Et-1 in central cardiovascular control, these results caution against drawing conclusions from ventricular application with knowledge only of cardiovascular parameters. These results also illustrate the profound effects of Et-1 which is uniquely capable of overriding cerebral autoregulatory mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Chlorophyll a/b binding (CAB) polypeptides of CP29, the internal chlorophyll a/b complex of PSII: characterization of the tomato gene encoding the 26 kDa (type I) polypeptide, and evidence for a second CP29 polypeptide.

CP29, the core chlorophyll a/b (CAB) antenna complex of Photosystem II (PSII), has two nuclear-encoded polypeptides of approximately 26 and 28 kDa in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum). Cab9, the gene for the Type I (26 kDa) CP29 polypeptide was cloned by immunoscreening a tomato leaf cDNA library. Its identity was confirmed by sequencing tryptic peptides from the mature protein. Cab9 is a single-copy gene with five introns, the highest number found in a CAB protein. In vitro transcription-translation gave a 31 kDa precursor which was cleaved to about 26 kDa after import into isolated tomato chloroplasts. The Cab9 polypeptide has the two highly conserved regions common to all CAB polypeptides, which define the members of this extended gene family. Outside of the conserved regions, it is only slightly more closely related to other PSII CABs than to PSI CABs. Sequence analysis of tryptic peptides from the Type II (28 kDa) CP29 polypeptide showed that it is also a member of the CAB family and is very similar or identical to the CP29 polypeptide previously isolated from spinach. All members of the CAB family have absolutely conserved His, Gln and Asn residues which could ligate the Mg atoms of the chlorophylls, and a number of conserved Asp. Glu, Lys and Arg residues which could form H-bonds to the polar groups on the porphyrin rings. The two conserved regions comprise the first and third predicted trans-membrane helices and the stroma-exposed segments preceding them.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Pilgrimage of pain: the illness experiences of women with repetition strain injury and the search for credibility.

Repetition strain injury (RSI), a non-specific and controversial constellation of work-related hand, arm and neck symptoms, became epidemic in Australian industry in the early 1980s. Fifty-two women who worked in a telecommunications organisation and a chicken processing factory and had been diagnosed as having RSI were interviewed about their perceptions and experiences of the illness. Their accounts of the search for caring and treatment, including their encounter with health and medical practitioners, suggest that the need to be believed and to establish their integrity dominated their 'pilgrimage'. The failure of the dominant explanations of RSI to accommodate the psychosocial and political dimensions of the illness thwarted this quest and, it is argued, contributed to its chronicity.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Assessment of physician perceptions on the fatality of cancer.

A questionnaire was developed to evaluate internists' perceptions about patients' survival of cancer as compared with other diseases. The questionnaire consisted of four pairs of survival-matched cancer and non-cancer diseases. The questionnaire was administered to 42 faculty members and 37 resident physicians in the Department of Medicine at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Physicians rated patients' survival of cancer to be significantly lower than patients' survival of comparable non-cancer diseases (p less than 0.001). Resident physicians estimated patients' survival of breast cancer to be significantly lower (p less than 0.007) and estimated the survival of lung cancer to be significantly higher than the faculty members' estimate (p less than 0.003). These physicians' perceptions could adversely affect the quality of care and the degree of consideration given to both cancer and non-cancer patients. The differences observed in faculty members' and resident physicians' responses were attributed to the greater knowledge and clinical experience of faculty rather than differences in attitudes toward cancer.

Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice↗
PubMed1991

Invariance of the Doppler bandwidth with flow displacement in the illuminating field.

It is known that if single frequency continuously transmitted ultrasound or electromagnetic energy is reflected from "straight line flow," defined here as one or more scatters moving with constant velocity along an infinite straight line, the Doppler effect will shift the echo spectrum center frequency from the transmitted value, and broaden its bandwidth. It is proved that if such straight line flow is shifted laterally or in range anywhere in the field, i.e., without change of orientation, its Doppler bandwidth remains unchanged. (The "Doppler bandwidth" is here defined as the frequency difference between the extrema of the echo power spectrum.) The theorem holds true even though the time domain echo changes dramatically with motion of the flow path, and is believed to be valid for electromagnetic as well as ultrasound waves. Its implications with respect to flow measurement, as well as preliminary experimental and computational confirmation, will be discussed.

Blood Flow Velocity↗
PubMed1991

Psychosocial needs of torture survivors.

Growing recognition that the world faces a modern epidemic of torture has stimulated widespread interest amongst mental health professionals in strategies for the treatment of survivors. In this article we outline the distinctive experiences of torture survivors who present for treatment in western countries. These survivors are usually refugees who, in addition to torture, have suffered a sequence of traumatic experiences and face ongoing linguistic, occupational, financial, educational and cultural obstacles in their country of resettlement. Their multiple needs call into question whether "working through" their trauma stories in psychotherapy will on its own ensure successful psychosocial rehabilitation. Drawing on our experience at a recently established service, we propose a broader therapeutic aim.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

Two stage audit of cerebrovascular and coronary heart disease risk factor recording: the effect of case finding and screening programmes.

The level of recording of risk factors for cardiovascular disease by general practitioners in north east Scotland has been audited. The effect of the audit on recording levels has also been determined by means of a second audit one year later. Twenty four practices in Grampian took part in the study, each auditing a random selection of 100 records of male patients aged 35-64 years. The risk factors chosen were blood pressure, smoking habit, alcohol consumption, weight and height. Blood pressure was recorded in the majority of the records (68.0%) and the mean level of recording of all of the risk factors increased between the two audits. The increase in the recording of smoking habit, alcohol consumption and weight was statistically significant. Practices with organized systems of data collection had higher levels of risk factor recording than those without. The levels of recording achieved were thus dependent on factors that existed in the practices prior to the study. This suggests that to increase recording levels, future educational intervention should be aimed at changes of motivation.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Stroke.

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Cerebrovascular Disorders↗