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Biomedical subjects

J Smith

Publications and source records attributed to J Smith.

At least 1,315 records · Page 73Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

The use of metronidazole in the preparation of the bowel for surgery.

A randomized trial was carried out in 120 patients undergoing colonic surgery mainly for carcinoma. Sixty-one patients received metronidazole and Thalazole and 59 received Thalazole alone. Sepsis occurred in 8 (13.1 per cent) of the 61 patients who received metronidazole, compared with 29 (49.2 per cent) of 59 patients who received only Thalazole. Of the 8 patients with sepsis who received metronidazole, none had infection due to anaerobic organisms.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1979

Alveolar soft part sarcoma of the head and neck.

The twelfth case (in 25 years of literature) of alveolar soft part sarcoma of the head and neck is presented. It represents the seventh case to occur in the base of tongue and the second to be associated with pregnancy. The average age of onset is in the second decade with a 2:1 female preponderance and a marked tendency to right-sided occurrence. Treatment with surgery and/or radiotherapy is not curative. Local recurrence is common as are distant metastases, usually to lung, brain or bone. Theoretically, chemotherapy may offer better control of disease but few agents have shown dramatic response. The characteristics of the tumors are discussed and various chemotherapeutic agents are reviewed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Survival of apurinic SV40 DNA in the d-complementation group of xeroderma pigmentosum.

The survival of depurinated Form I SV40 DNA was studied in normal human fibroblasts and in D-complementation Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) fibroblasts. Survival was measured with an infective center assay. Heat-acid and methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) were used as depurinating agents. After 3 hrs of depurination by heat--acid treatment, infectivity in normal cells was less than 15% of the controls compared to more than 50% for the XP D cell strains. Similar results were obtained with MMS-treated DNA. These results are contrary to expectation since apurinic endonuclease activity, which is presumed to be involved in the repair of apurinic sites, is much lower in XP D cell strains than in normal cell strains. Our results indicate that another mechanism for the repair of apurinic sites could exist.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1979

Some measurements of the shape and hydrodynamic properties of yeast phosphoglycerate kinase (E.C.2.7.2.3).

Using values obtained for sedimentation and diffusion constants the relative mass of phosphoglycerate kinase was calculated to be 45 800 +/- 1700. This value is higher than was previously estimated and the difference is thought to be caused by contamination of earlier crystalline preparations. Using the coordinates from X-ray crystallography it was found possible to calculate a frictional ratio for a linear dumb-bell (1.115) which compared well with the ratio calculated from diffusion (1.114 +/- 0.033). Since the calculated ratio for a bent molecule was 1.020 the natural state of the molecule in solution is essentially linear. From the concentration dependence of sedimentation and diffusion was calculated the effective interactive radius which resembles haemoglobin in its relationship to the molecular radius.

Molecular Weight↗
PubMed1979

Phylogenetic distribution of glutathione peroxidase.

1. The enzyme glutathione peroxidase (E.C.1.11.1.9), known to be a selenoprotein from mammalian sources, was detected in the following vertebrates: fish, frog, salamander, and turtle. 2. Among invertebrates, the enzyme was detected in crayfish and snail but not in insects or earthworm. 3. No plant tissues or microorganisms showed any evidence of the enzyme activity. 4. The presence of the enzyme activity in so many animal groups implies the widespread occurrence of genetic information for the specific assimilation of the selenium atom.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Do dollars spent relate to outcomes in burn care?

In light of limited health care funds, there is a need for reliable information relating costs to clinical outcomes. Distinction should be made between diseases for which improved outcomes relate to intensity of care and those for which limits of current knowledge preclude improved results. A survey of 1,656 burn admissions to 73 hospitals over a one-year period showed that length of stay, unpaid bills, and the proportion of unpaid bills to total bills were two to six times greater than for nonburn admissions to the same hospitals. Three hospitals had special burn facilities, and even when adjustments were made for severity of injury, these hospitals had poorer outcomes and higher costs when all their burn patients were studied. When only those patients with greater than 30 per cent burn were compared between hospitals with and without special burn programs, or when patients were matched for degree of burn the hospitals with the special programs still had no better patient outcomes than those without such facilities. The crucial question, then, is whether mortality and complications were lower in special facilities. Although there was no evidence in this survey that they were, the final answer must come from a prospective study of outcome. If these survey results are confirmed, burns might be identified as an illness for which current limits in management abilities limit the ultimate proportion of successful outcomes.

Burns↗
PubMed1979

B-cell acute lymphatic leukaemia: immunoglobulin synthesis, morphology and clinical features.

A detailed case study of a B cell acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) is described. Ultrastructurally the neoplastic cells resembled other cases of ALL studied. The majority of the neoplastic cells had detectable surface IgGlambda and receptors for Fcgamma while a majority of the cells had receptors for the C3 component of complement. Neoplastic cell preparations were able to synthesize IgGlambda with a surplus of free lambda chains. This case did not respond to treatment, and death ensued within 36 h of presentation. The clinical and laboratory findings are discussed with respect to other cases of ALL.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Tantalum inhalation and airway responses.

We studied the effects of tantalum inhalation bronchography on pulmonary function in 14 normal volunteers. Based on the radiographic type of deposition, the subjects were divided into three groups: (1) subjects who deposited tantalum mainly in the trachea, (2) subjects who deposited tantalum in segmental bronchi without radiographic evidence of bronchospasm, and (3) subjects who deposited tantalum in segmental bronchi with radiographic evidence of bronchospasm. Unlike the first two groups, the third group developed a significant but small decrease in the FEV. Airway reactivity as assessed by methacholine challenge did not explain the difference in response to tantalum in the third group. There were no consistent changes in total lung capacity, residual volume, or closing volume in any of the groups. Even though there were falls in FEV and specific conductance in individuals in groups 2 and 3, these changes did not pose any significant clinical risk.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Effects of glucocorticosteroids in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.

Glucocorticosteroid, methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MPSS), 30 mg/kg of body weight, or dexamethasone sodium phosphate (DSP), 6 mg/kg of body weight, were given intravenously to 60 patients, divided into two groups of 30 45 minutes prior to cardiopulmonary bypass for coronary artery bypass. These two groups were compared with 30 patients in a control group receiving a placebo and undergoing the same surgery. The study was carried out in a double-lind fashion. Patients receiving MPSS had a significantly higher cardiac index in both the preoperative and postoperative periods. This was accompanied by a decreased peripheral resistance. Patients receiving either MPSS or DSP also showed some evidence for the "washout" phenomenon indicating the possibility of better microcirculatory flow. Gluconeogenesis may have been enhanced in both groups receiving MPSS or DSP, but the evidence was greater in thos patients receiving MPSS. There were no hospital deaths in any of the three groups totaling 90 patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Computed tomography of lower extremity tumors.

Fifty cases of lower extremity tumors examined with computed tomography were reviewed. Of the 50 cases, 41 had gross pathologic correlation, either by enbloc resection (26) or by amputation (15). Important information regarding size, location, definition, and anatomic relation of tumors to vital structures (neural, vascular, and osseous) may be ascertained by this means with great accuracy. Localization of vessels by intravenous infusion of contrast material during the scan, or after arteriography with intraarterial contrast infusion, is found to enhance such evaluation. This information is particularly important where the feasibility of en-bloc resection is being evaluated.

Femoral Neoplasms↗
PubMed1979

The in vitro and in vivo effects of a surgical lubricant on the recovery of gonococci from the endocervical canal.

A surgical lubricant containing phenylmercuric borate, tested in vitro, was shown to alter the recovery of the gonococcus. In vivo studies of 150 patients, 60 (40%) of whom were infected with Neisseria gonorrhoeae, were performed to determine if examination with the surgical lubricant, as compared to tap water, altered the ability to recover N. gonorrhoeae from the cervix. Results indicated that although the surgical lubricant containing phenylmercuric borate was bacteriostatic in vitro, it did not alter the recovery of N. gonorrhoese from infected patients.

Adolescent↗