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Biomedical subjects

J Strauss

Publications and source records attributed to J Strauss.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Methylphenidate slows reactions of children with attention deficit disorder during and after an error.

A Sternberg memory search task was administered under placebo and methylphenidate to 42 children with cross-situational attention deficit disorder (ADD), 31 children with cross-situational ADD plus oppositional features, and 25 patients with marginal ADD. Overall, stimulant medication enhanced accuracy and speed. In addition, patients reacted faster on correct responses not preceded by an error than on errors (especially false alarms) or on correct responses following an error. The slowness during error reactions may reflect decreased confidence or confusion during stimulus classification. This uncertainty may also lead subjects to respond with greater caution, hence more slowly, on correct responses following errors. Notably, methylphenidate increased the slowing of reactions on error trials as well as on correct reactions following an error. Stimulant medication may augment subjects' persistence when they are uncertain or confused, thereby heightening caution and promoting accuracy on succeeding trials. Consistent with previous reports of the generality of enhancement of performance by stimulant medication, the impact of methylphenidate was comparable for the three subtypes of ADD studied.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗
PubMed1996

Validity of random urines to quantitate proteinuria in children with human immunodeficiency virus nephropathy.

Accurate assessment of proteinuria in pediatric patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is limited by constraints imposed by timed urine collections and low creatinine excretion in very ill patients with low muscle mass. We therefore sought to validate the use of random urine specimens to quantitate total protein and creatinine excretion in a population of 236 HIV-positive children. A mathematical derivation for estimating urine volume (V) was constructed. The accuracy of the final calculation [V = 832 (kL/Ucr)BSA] (where k = constant, L body length, UCr urine creatinine and BSA body surface area) was tested by regression analysis comparing the calculated and measured volume of 31 urines from ambulatory HIV-negative patients. The correlation coefficient was highly significant (r = 0.77, P < or = 0.0001). The relationship was also applied to 23 timed urine specimens from HIV-positive patients with similar significance (r = 0.87, P < 0.0001). A regression analysis of measured proteinuria against the urine protein: creatinine ratio (Upr/Ucr) in these same urines from the HIV-positive patients yielded a significant relationship both in the linear (r = 0.95, y = 0.4x) and the logarithmic regression (r = 0.97, y = x + 0.4). These data support the use of random Upr/Ucr ratios to estimate daily proteinuria in HIV-infected pediatric patients despite low creatinine excretion rates. The previously accepted values continue to apply, with Upr/Ucr < or = 2.0 considered normal and > 2.0 representative of nephrotic proteinuria.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Quality of health care, survival and health outcomes in Ghana.

This paper analyzes the effect of quality and accessibility of health services and other public infrastructure on the health of children in Ghana. We focus on child survival, child height and weight using data from the Ghana Living Standards Survey. The results suggest an important role for public health policy in eliminating the rural-urban disparities in health status and particularly in improving the health status of rural children and reducing their mortality rates. Increased availability of birth services and other related child programs, as well as Improved water and sanitation infrastructure would have an immediate payoff.

Anthropometry↗
PubMed1996

Carbon catabolite repression of xylanase I (xyn1) gene expression in Trichoderma reesei.

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei forms two specific, xylan-inducible xylanases encoded by xyn1 and xyn2 to degrade the beta-1,4-D-xylan backbone of hemicelluloses. This enzyme system is formed in the presence of xylan, but not glucose. The molecular basis of the absence of xylanase I formation on glucose was the purpose of this study. Northern blotting of the xyn1 transcript as well as the use of the Escherichia coli hygromycin B phosphotransferase-encoding gene (hph) as a reporter consistently showed that the basal expression of xyn1 was affected by glucose, whereas its induction by xylan remained uninfluenced. The repression of basal xyn1 transcription is mediated by the carbon catabolite repressor protein Cre1, which in vivo binds to two of four consensus sites (5'-SYG-GRG-3') in the xyn1 promoter, which occurred in the form of an inverted repeat. T. reesei strains, bearing a xyn1::hph reporter construct, in which four nucleotides from the middle of the inverted repeat had been removed, expressed hph on glucose at a level comparable to that observed during growth on a carbon catabolite derepressing carbon source. Northern analysis of xyn1 expression in a T. reesei mutant strain (RUT C-30), which contains a truncated, non-functional cre1 gene, also confirmed basal transcription of xyn1. In this strain, xyn1 transcription was still inducible by xylose or xylan to an even higher degree than in the wild-type strain, suggesting that induction overcomes glucose repression at the level of xyn1 expression. Based on these data, we postulate that basal transcription of xyn1 is repressed by glucose and mediated by an inverted repeat of the consensus motif for Cre1-mediated carbon catabolite repression.

Carbon↗
PubMed1996

Renal tubular abnormalities in infants with hydronephrosis.

PURPOSE: Abnormalities in renal tubular function have been observed in hydronephrotic urinary tract disease, resulting in metabolic acidosis, hyperkalemia and excessive free water diuresis. The frequency of these abnormalities, particularly in our infant population, was the impetus for our study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 50 infants selected from 199 patients followed for hydronephrosis before any surgical intervention during a 5-year period. Mean patient age was 1.5 +/- 1.0 months at the time of diagnosis by ultrasound, voiding cystourethrography and a radionuclide renal scan. Lesions were classified as unilateral or bilateral and graded according to severity of renal pelvic dilatation or grade of vesicoureteral reflux. RESULTS: At least 1 abnormality of tubular function was present in 29 patients (58%) of whom the predominant abnormality was renal tubular acidosis in 23 (79%, 46% of the total study group). Renal tubular acidosis was diagnosed on the basis of a serum total carbon dioxide of 19 mM./l. or less with urinary pH 5.5 or greater. The defect appeared to be distal in most cases. Other abnormalities included defects in urinary concentrating ability in 10 patients (4 with unilateral urinary tract dilatation). Distal tubular aldosterone resistance in 6 patients (3 with unilateral dilatation) was demonstrated by hyperkalemia with a low transtubular potassium gradient of 3 or less and low fractional excretion of potassium. Although common in unilateral lesions, renal tubular dysfunction became more prevalent with an increase in severity score and bilaterality. CONCLUSIONS: Renal tubular dysfunction is frequent in hydronephrotic infants with unilateral or bilateral disease. Although rarely life threatening and usually self-limiting, the metabolic consequences of these abnormalities require investigation to allow for appropriate medical management.

Female↗
PubMed1996

Growth in children with moderate renal insufficiency: measurement, evaluation, and treatment.

Essential in the treatment of children with chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) is the elimination of growth deficits. With the prospect of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) and other adjunct treatment, the appropriate measurement and assessment of growth retardation and growth recovery will document continued progress toward eliminating this disabling condition. Phases and determinants of growth at different ages are best described by growth velocity patterns. Nutritional, hormonal, and metabolic determinants interact throughout each phase of growth. Potential for growth loss and recovery is greatest during infancy and early childhood, as shown by the growth velocity index (GVI) of change in height standard deviation score (SDS) (deltaHt - SDS) divided by the growth velocity - SDS (GV - SDS) (GVI = deltaHT - SDS/GV - SDS). An appropriate target height based on potential from mid-parental heights should be set before intervention to establish goals for duration of treatment. Ultimate adult height is the only true measurement of outcome, although predictive formulas based on parental heights and bone age versus chronologic age (BA/CA) are mathematic tools to gauge the efficacy of ongoing regimes. True catch-up growth is defined as the full recovery of lost percentiles and cannot be assumed with an increase in growth velocity or incremental gain in Ht-SDS.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Cre1, the carbon catabolite repressor protein from Trichoderma reesei.

In order to investigate the mechanism of carbon catabolite repression in the industrially important fungus Trichoderma reesei, degenerated PCR-primers were designed to amplify a 0.7-bp fragment of the cre1 gene, which was used to clone the entire gene. It encodes a 402-amino acid protein with a calculated M(r) of 43.6 kDa. Its aa-sequence shows 55.6% and 54.7% overall similarity to the corresponding genes of Aspergillus nidulans and A. niger, respectively. Similarity was restricted to the aa-region containing the C2H2 zinc finger and several aa-regions rich in proline and basic amino acids, which may be involved in the interaction with other proteins. Another aa-region rich in the SPXX-motif that has been considered analogous to a region of yeast RGR1p, was instead identified as a domain occurring in several eucaryotic transcription factors. The presence of the cre1 translation product was demonstrated with polyclonal antibodies against Cre1, which identified a protein of 43 (+/- 2) kDa in cell-free extracts from T. reesei. A Cre1 protein fragment from the two zinc fingers to the region similar to the aa-sequence of eucaryotic transcription factors, was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein with glutathione S-transferase. EMSA and in vitro footprinting revealed binding of the fusion protein to the sequence 5'-GCGGAG-3', which matches well with the A. nidulans consensus sequence for CreA binding (5'-SYGGRG-3'). Cell-free extracts of T. reesei formed different complexes with DNA-fragments carrying this binding sites, and the presence of Cre1 and additional proteins in these complexes was demonstrated. We conclude that T. reesei Cre1 is the functional homologue of Aspergillus CreA and that it binds to its target sequence probably as a protein complex.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

HIV nephropathy in children.

The evaluation and management of children with HIV nephropathy provide a great challenge to the pediatric nephrologist caring for patients with this tragic illness, of which the nephropathy is only part of their problem and extends beyond the patient to the family and all of the supportive team involved. Care decisions should be based on a multi-disciplinary approach in which the infectious disease component is included. There are many areas that require a better understanding, particularly the pathogenesis of HIV nephropathy and the approach to treatment of the nephropathy with specific drugs. Early identification of children affected with this condition and an aggressive approach to management seem essential to the improvement of the outcome of these patients.

AIDS-Associated Nephropathy↗
PubMed1995

The bgl1 gene of Trichoderma reesei QM 9414 encodes an extracellular, cellulose-inducible beta-glucosidase involved in cellulase induction by sophorose.

We have investigated the effect of disruption of the bgl1-(beta-glucosidase l-encoding) gene of Trichoderma reesei on the formation of other beta-glucosidase activities and on the induction of cellulases. To this end the bgl1 locus was disrupted by insertion of the Aspergillus nidulans amdS (acetamidase-encoding) gene. The bgl1-disrupted strain did not produce the 75 kDa extracellular beta-glucosidase on cellulose or lactose, but still formed beta-glucosidase activity on glucose, cellobiose, xylan or beta-1,3-glucan, suggesting that the enzyme(s) exhibiting this beta-glucosidase activity is (are) not encoded by bgl1. The cellulase-inducer sophorose induced the bgl1-encoded beta-glucosidase, whereas the remaining beta-glucosidase activity was induced by methyl-beta-D-glucoside. The bgl1-gene product was mainly secreted into the medium, whereas the other beta-glucosidase activity was mainly associated with the cells. A bgl1-multicopy strain formed higher amounts of cellulases than the parent strain. Nonsaturating concentrations of sophorose efficiently induced cellobiohydrolase l formation in the bgl1-multicopy strain, but less efficiently in the bgl1-disrupted strain. The multicopy strain and the parent strain were comparably efficient at saturating sophorose concentrations. The beta-glucosidase inhibitor nojirimycin strongly inhibited induction in all strains. These data suggest that the bgl1-encoded beta-glucosidase is not identical to the plasma-membrane-bound, constitutive, methyl-beta-glucoside inducible beta-glucosidase, but represents an extracellular cellulose-induced enzyme. Both enzymes contribute to rapid induction of cellulases by modifying the inducer sophorose.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1995

The intergenic region between the divergently transcribed niiA and niaD genes of Aspergillus nidulans contains multiple NirA binding sites which act bidirectionally.

The niaD and niiA genes of Aspergillus nidulans, which code, respectively, for nitrate and nitrite reductases, are divergently transcribed, and their ATGs are separated by 1,200 bp. The genes are under the control of the positively acting NirA transcription factor, which mediates nitrate induction. The DNA binding domain of NirA was expressed as a fusion protein with the glutathione S-transferase of Schistosoma japonicum. Gel shift and footprint experiments have shown that in the intergenic region there are four binding sites for the NirA transcription factor. These sites can be represented by the nonpalindromic consensus 5'CTCCGHGG3'. Making use of a bidirectional expression vector, we have analyzed the role of each of the sites in niaD and niiA expression. The sites were numbered from the niiA side. It appeared that site 1 is necessary for the inducibility of niiA only, while sites 2, 3, and to a lesser extent 4 (which is nearer to and strongly affects niaD) act bidirectionally. The results also suggest that of the 10 binding sites for the AreA protein, which mediates nitrogen metabolite repression, those which are centrally located are physiologically important. The insertion of an unrelated upstream activating sequence into the intergenic region strongly affected the expression of both genes, irrespective of the orientation in which the element was inserted.

Aspergillus nidulans↗
PubMed1995

[Potential carcinogenic factors in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia].

In a group of 22 women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and carcinoma of the cervix uteri and in a control group of 37 healthy women, a number of anamnestic and objective data about factors influencing these women and about consequences of such influence were analysed. Statistically significant differences between patients and controls were found in the character of work performed (physical vs. intellectual, p = 0.0312), the presence of stressing factors at the workplace (p = 0.02), a higher number of consumed meals per day in the control group (p = 0.0009), daily consumption of beer in a higher percentage of patients (p = 0.0015), the frequency of sexual intercourse in the last 2-3 months before the diagnosis of disease or examination (higher in controls, p = 0.0164) and subjective rating of sexual life in the fourth decade (better rating in controls, p = 0.0005). No differences were found between patients and controls in the number of sexual partners, the presence of antibodies against HSV-2 and other factors. According to data presented and data in the literature, external environment, some of the characteristics of sexual life and particularly infection with certain types of papillomaviruses have a certain influence on the development of cervical neoplasias.

Female↗
PubMed1994

Perioperative nursing orientation. A primer for designing your own program.

The orientation program for OR nurses at Mount Sinai Medical Center has been in place for more than two years. Orientees have given consistently favorable evaluations of the program, and many of them have commented that this was the first real OR orientation that they had received in their careers. Staff acceptance of new employees has improved, and our retention rate of new employees is promising. New nurses who have been through the orientation program now can provide staffing in the OR so that more experienced nurses can participate in the RN first assistant training program that we have introduced. A structured orientation program ensures consistency in the information given to new employees. We continue to revise and improve the program based on changes in the workplace and orientees' evaluations. We believe that the time spent designing our program has paid off well in employee satisfaction and retention--in management terms, the return on investment has been good.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1994

Clinical and cognitive effects of methylphenidate on children with attention deficit disorder as a function of aggression/oppositionality and age.

Children diagnosed with attention deficit disorder (ADD; n = 44), ADD plus aggression/oppositionality (ADD/O; n = 34), and as not meeting ADD criteria (NC; n = 29) received methylphenidate and placebo for 21 consecutive days each. Parents and teachers rated all groups improved under medication, but teachers reported less improvement for NC than for ADD/O children. Methylphenidate and chronological age had generally similar effects in a Sternberg task: greater accuracy and speed (especially for nontargets at low memory loads), larger P3b waves of event-related potentials, more pronounced slowing of P3b latency by memory load, and a greater trend of earlier peaks for targets than for nontargets. Both methylphenidate and maturation promoted more efficient strategies involving differentiated evaluation of targets and nontargets. These results were comparable among ADD groups.

Aggression↗
PubMed1994

The paradoxical effect of diet commercials on reinhibition of dietary restraint.

Although many studies have explored the mechanism by which dietary restraint becomes disinhibited, few have examined how restraint is restored or "reinhibited." Using a taste test with preload design, we showed a sad movie clip interrupted by diet-related commercials, neutral commercials, or no commercials to women with high and low restraint scores. We predicted that images of successful dieting would foster reinhibition. Results, however, revealed the opposite: high restrained eaters who viewed the diet-oriented commercials ate more than other subjects. We interpret these data as suggesting that diet-related images act as additional disinhibitors and view our results in light of research linking ego threat to dietary disinhibition (Heatherton, Herman, & Polivy, 1991).

Advertising↗
PubMed1994

Gender differences in adult health: an international comparison.

This article uses data from the United States, Jamaica, Malaysia, and Bangladesh to explore gender differences in adult health. The results show that women fare worse than men across a variety of self-reported health measures in all four countries studies. These health status disparities between men and women persist even after appropriate corrections are made for the impact of (a) differential mortality selection by gender and (b) sociodemographic factors. Data from Jamaica indicate that gender disparities in adult health arise early and persist throughout the life cycle, with different age profiles for different measures.

Adolescent↗