Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Tay

Publications and source records attributed to J Tay.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Acute retention of urine due to prolapsing stoma in a case of anorectal malformation with bladder neck fistula.

This case report describes an extremely premature infant who was born with a high anorectal malformation requiring a colostomy soon after birth. He later developed multiple episodes of acute urinary retention complicated by bilateral hydronephrosis and acute renal failure. The cause of the retention was found to be the prolapsing stoma, which was kinking the bladder neck.

Acute Kidney Injury↗
PubMed2004

Peripheral secretin-induced Fos expression in the rat brain is largely vagal dependent.

I.v. injection of secretin activates neurons in brain areas controlling autonomic function and emotion. Peripheral administration of secretin inhibits gastric functions through a central mechanism that is mediated by vagal dependent pathways. We investigated whether the vagus nerve is involved in i.p. injection of secretin-induced brain neuronal activation in conscious rats as monitored by Fos immunohistochemistry. Secretin (40 or 100 microg/kg, i.p., 90 min) induced a dose-related increase in the number of Fos positive neurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), and a plateau Fos response in the area postrema (AP), nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS), locus coeruleus (LC), Barrington's nucleus (Bar), external lateral subnucleus of parabrachial nucleus (PBel) and arcuate nucleus, and at 100 microg/kg, in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) compared with i.p. injection of vehicle. Double immunohistochemistry showed that secretin (40 microg/kg, i.p.) activates tyrosine hydroxylase neurons in the NTS. Subdiaphragmatic vagotomy (7 days) abolished Fos expression-induced by i.p. secretin (40 microg/kg) in the NTS, DMV, LC, Bar, PBel and CeA, while a significant rise in the AP was maintained. In contrast, s.c. capsaicin (10 days) did not influence the Fos induction in the above nuclei. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative real-time PCR showed that secretin receptor mRNA is expressed in the nodose ganglia and levels were higher in the right compared with the left ganglion. These results indicate that peripheral secretin activates catecholaminergic NTS neurons as well as neurons in medullary, pontine and limbic nuclei regulating autonomic functions and emotion through vagal-dependent capsaicin-resistant pathways. Secretin injected i.p. may signal to the brain by interacting with secretin receptors on vagal afferent as well as on AP neurons outside the blood-brain barrier.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Intestinal candidiasis. A clinical report and comments about this opportunistic pathology.

UNLABELLED: An eight-years-old girl, who presented with recurrent upper respiratory tract infections, was treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Afterward she presented with intestinal candidiasis. The isolated species was identified as Candida albicans by differential tests. Treatment given was with 500,000 IU of oral nystatin every 8 hours for 10 days and intestinal normal microbiota restoratives. Evolution has been satisfactory, although concomitantly type A hepatitis developed. Rest and a soft diet were recommended. The child is now perfectly healthy with normal liver function tests. CONCLUSION: Prolonged treatments with broad-spectrum antibiotics destroyed the indigenous intestinal microbiota, which provoked intestinal C. Albicans proliferation and adversely affected the immunological system of the patient, thus facilitating the establishment of a viral infection.

Antifungal Agents↗
PubMed2001

The level of accuracy and agreement in measures of FEO2, FECO2 and VE between the Cosmed K4b2 portable, respiratory gas analysis system and a metabolic cart.

This study aimed to assess the accuracy of the Cosmed K4b2 (Cosmed, Italy) portable metabolic system that measures FEO2, FECO2 and VE on a breath by breath basis. For gas concentration comparisons, expired air from 20 subjects performing treadmill running was collected in a 600 litre chain compensated Collins Tissot tank and analysed for FEO2 and FECO2 using a laboratory metabolic cart and the Cosmed K4 b2 metabolic system. For ventilation comparisons, serial steady state VE (STPD) values were measured on 10 subjects using the Cosmed K4b2 ventilation turbine and a Morgan ventilation monitor during a continuous treadmill running protocol at ascending speeds of 8, 11 and 14 km x h(-1). The Cosmed K4b2 FEO2 and FECO2 measures were significantly lower (P < 0.001) than the metabolic cart values. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) and the standard error of measurement (SEM) demonstrated a high association between the Cosmed and the metabolic cart measures (FEO2 r =0 .971, SEM 0.071: FECO2 r = 0.925, SEM 0.087). Cosmed VE (l x min(-1)) measures were significantly greater than Morgan values at running speeds of 8 kmh(-1) (P < 0.001) and 11 kmh(-1) (P < 0.001) but not significantly different at 14 km x h(-1) (P > 0.05). When VE measures at the three running speeds were combined, the mean difference between instrument measures ranged between 3.5 - 4.0 l x min(-1) but the values were highly correlated (r= 0.982, P<0.01; SEM 3.03). Linear regression analysis revealed the following regression equations to predict metabolic cart values from Cosmed measures: FEO2 = 0.852+0.963 Cosmed (R2 = 0.940, P<0.00 1), FECO2 = 0.627+0.878 Cosmed (R2=0.856, P<0.001), VE = -2.50+0.984 Cosmed (R2 = 0.965. P < 0.001). The results indicated that the Cosmed K4b2 unit assessed here produced measures of FEO2, FECO2 and VE that had strong correlation to values obtained from a metabolic cart. However, linear regression analysis may further improve the accuracy of Cosmed K4b2 measures when compared to metabolic cart values.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Germ cell differentiation and synaptonemal complex formation are disrupted in CPEB knockout mice.

CPEB is a sequence-specific RNA binding protein that regulates translation during vertebrate oocyte maturation. Adult female CPEB knockout mice contained vestigial ovaries that were devoid of oocytes; ovaries from mid-gestation embryos contained oocytes that were arrested at the pachytene stage. Male CPEB null mice also contained germ cells arrested at pachytene. The germ cells from the knockout mice harbored fragmented chromatin, suggesting a possible defect in homologous chromosome adhesion or synapsis. Two CPE-containing synaptonemal complex protein mRNAs, which interact with CPEB in vitro and in vivo, contained shortened poly(A) tails and mostly failed to sediment with polysomes in the null mice. Synaptonemal complexes were not detected in these animals. CPEB therefore controls germ cell differentiation by regulating the formation of the synaptonemal complex.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2001

CPEB phosphorylation and cytoplasmic polyadenylation are catalyzed by the kinase IAK1/Eg2 in maturing mouse oocytes.

In both vertebrates and invertebrates, the expression of several maternal mRNAs is regulated by cytoplasmic polyadenylation. In Xenopus oocytes, where most of the biochemical details of this process have been examined, polyadenylation is controlled by CPEB, a sequence-specific RNA binding protein. The activity of CPEB, which is to recruit cleavage and polyadenylation specificity factor (CPSF) and poly(A) polymerase (PAP) into an active cytoplasmic polyadenylation complex, is controlled by Eg2-catalyzed phosphorylation. Soon after CPEB phosphorylation and resulting polyadenylation take place, the interaction between maskin, a CPEB-associated factor, and eIF4E, the cap-binding protein, is destroyed, which results in the recruitment of mRNA into polysomes. Polyadenylation also occurs in maturing mouse oocytes, although the biochemical events that govern the reaction in these cells are not known. In this study, we have examined the phosphorylation of CPEB and have assessed the necessity of this protein for polyadenylation in maturing mouse oocytes. Immunohistochemistry has revealed that all the factors that control polyadenylation and translation in Xenopus oocytes (CPEB, CPSF, PAP, maskin, and IAK1, the murine homologue of Eg2) are also present in the cytoplasm of mouse oocytes. After the induction of maturation, a kinase is activated that phosphorylates CPEB on a critical regulatory residue, an event that is essential for CPEB activity. A peptide that competitively inhibits the activity of IAK1/Eg2 blocks the progression of meiosis in injected oocytes. Finally, a CPEB protein that acts as a dominant negative mutation because it cannot be phosphorylated by IAK1/Eg2, prevents cytoplasmic polyadenylation. These data indicate that cytoplasmic polyadenylation in mouse oocytes is mediated by IAK1/Eg2-catalyzed phosphorylation of CPEB.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

The control of cyclin B1 mRNA translation during mouse oocyte maturation.

In maturing mouse oocytes, protein synthesis is required for meiotic maturation subsequent to germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD). While the number of different proteins that must be synthesized for this progression to occur is unknown, at least one of them appears to be cyclin B1, the regulatory subunit of M-phase-promoting factor. Here, we investigate the mechanism of cyclin B1 mRNA translational control during mouse oocyte maturation. We show that the U-rich cytoplasmic polyadenylation element (CPE), a cis element in the 3' UTR of cyclin B1 mRNA, mediates translational repression in GV-stage oocytes. The CPE is also necessary for cytoplasmic polyadenylation, which stimulates translation during oocyte maturation. The injection of oocytes with a cyclin B1 antisense RNA, which probably precludes the binding of a factor to the CPE, delays cytoplasmic polyadenylation as well as the transition from GVBD to metaphase II. CPEB, which interacts with the cyclin B1 CPE and is present throughout meiotic maturation, becomes phosphorylated at metaphase I. These data indicate that CPEB is involved in both the repression and the stimulation of cyclin B1 mRNA and suggest that the phosphorylation of this protein could be involved in regulating its activity.

3' Untranslated Regions↗
PubMed2000

Virtual reality for relearning daily living skills.

The explosive increase in the power of computers has enabled the creation of fast, interactive 3D environments, sometimes called virtual reality (VR). This technology, often associated with arcade games, is increasingly being used for more serious applications. This paper describes research showing transfer of skills from a virtual environment to the real world. We then describe our VR authoring tool and an application to help cognitively impaired individuals relearn important daily living skills. Additionally we describe the development of a prototype networked system to enable a doctor to monitor remotely the rehabilitation of a group of patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1999

Port-site metastasis following laparoscopic lymphadenectomy for adenosquamous carcinoma of the cervix.

Although incisional metastases following surgery for cervical cancer are extremely rare, port-site disease following minimal-access surgery is becoming increasingly reported. We report a case of a metastasis which occurred at a port site following laparoscopic removal of lymph nodes affected by cervical adenosquamous carcinoma. This report adds to the literature suggesting that cutaneous tumor deposition may be enhanced by this method of surgery.

Carcinoma, Adenosquamous↗
PubMed1998

CPEB-mediated cytoplasmic polyadenylation and the regulation of experience-dependent translation of alpha-CaMKII mRNA at synapses.

Long-term changes in synaptic efficacy may require the regulated translation of dendritic mRNAs. While the basis of such regulation is unknown, it seemed possible that some features of translational control in development could be recapitulated in neurons. Polyadenylation-induced translation of oocyte mRNAs requires the cis-acting CPE sequence and the CPE-binding protein CPEB. CPEB is also present in the dendritic layers of the hippocampus, at synapses in cultured neurons, and in postsynaptic densities of adult brain. alpha-CaMKII mRNA, which is localized in dendrites and is necessary for synaptic plasticity and LTP, contains two CPEs. These CPEs are bound by CPEB and mediate polyadenylation-induced translation in injected Xenopus oocytes. In the intact brain, visual experience induces alpha-CaMKII mRNA polyadenylation and translation, suggesting that this process likely occurs at synapses.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

MediAgent: a WWW-based scalable and self-learning medical search engine.

Searching for medical information on the Internet can be tedious and frustrating due to the number of irrelevant entries returned from generic search engines. We have developed MediAgent, a scalable search engine that aims to deliver a web-based medical search solution which is focused, exhaustive and able to keep improving its databases. The software package can run off a single low-end system and be scaled into a client-server, distributed computing architecture for high-end needs. This scalable architecture boosts MediAgent's handling capacity to tens of millions of web pages. In addition to large volume handling, MediAgent is designed to be manageable. All subsystems are not only highly configurable, but also support remote, interactive management and monitoring by the system administrator.

Computer Security↗
PubMed1995

Paediatric pacemaker implant using the transvenous endocardial approach.

The advent of the pacemaker has opened a whole new dimension to management in cardiology. Although its use has been well described in adults, its role in paediatric cardiology has proven to be equally exciting and challenging. We describe a case of a child with complex cyanotic heart disease who had an insertion of a cardiac pacemaker via the transvenous route, one of the youngest to be performed locally. This article also highlights the pertinent features of paediatric pacemaker therapy, including its indications and implantation technique.

Child↗
PubMed1988

Genetic studies among the sedentes and migrant Oraons of eastern India.

A total of 334 Oraons of both sexes from two localities in eastern India were tested for 11 polymorphic and six monomorphic blood genetic markers. The sample comprised 130 sedentes from the Gumla district in Bihar and 204 migrants to the Jalpaiguri district of North Bengal. At the hemoglobin locus one example of HbAS was observed in the Gumla sample, while two cases of HbAS were found in the Jalpaiguri group. The Oraons are a distinct tribe and are characterized by a very low frequency of Hp1, TFC2, and a high frequency of TfD1 and GcIF at the serum protein loci. In the red cell enzyme systems the Oraons have a higher frequency of pa at the acid phosphatase locus and GLO1 at the Glyoxalase I locus. Absence of red cell lactate dehydrogenase and very low HbS and GdB- is also characteristic of the Oraons. A probable new nondeficient slow variant of Gd has been observed in polymorphic frequency in the Oraons of Gumla. There was an excess of homozygotes at the Gc locus. No significant difference in the gene frequency between the two groups of Oraons was observed at any of the loci. Genetic distance estimates using the gene frequency data indicate that the Oraons of the two localities are genetically homogeneous and form one cluster with the Bhils. They are nearer to the Irula and Kurumba tribes of the Nilgiris rather than the other Dravidian tribes, Tamils, or Nayars.

Blood Proteins↗