Dislocation of the interphalangeal joint of the great toe.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
J Thomas
Publications and source records attributed to J Thomas.
Non Hepatitis viruses in causation of acute sporadic non-A, non-B viral hepatitis.
Viruses other than Hepatitis viruses i.e. Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr Rubella etc., can cause a clinical picture resembling that of viral hepatitis. Consequently, these viruses can falsely contribute to the diagnosis of Non-A, Non-B hepatitis amongst of sporadic jaundice. This study attempts to find out the possibility of occurrence of such an event.
Acute Disease↗
Speech and voice rehabilitation in selected patients fitted with a bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA).
With the Birmingham osseointegrated implant programme there have been several patients with severe pre-lingual conductive hearing loss. The majority of these have been patients with Treacher Collins syndrome. There are characteristic features of speech and voice in those with long-standing conductive hearing loss. In addition, the associated abnormalities of jaw, teeth and palate may amplify the problem. There may be spontaneous improvement in features such as voice pitch, quality and intensity following the fitting of a BAHA. However, in those with a pre-lingual hearing impairment, speech therapy may be necessary. Patients assessed as suitable for BAHA have a full assessment of communication skills including audio recording of speech and voice. Post-operative training improves auditory discrimination and perception and is followed by training in the production of the newly perceived speech sounds.
Adolescent↗
[A case of lithiasis caused by 2,8 dihydroxyadenine. Evolutive characteristics. Therapeutic problems].
We report a case of bilateral 2,8 dihydroxyadenine urolithiasis in a 25-year-old woman, born from an incestuous union between a brother and sister, who developed the first manifestations at the age of 9 years. This condition results from APRTase deficiency and an autosomal recessive inherited disorder. Diagnosis requires physical analysis of the stones and measurement of APRT activity in red cells. Treatment by lithotripsy with piezo-electric shock waves was ineffective on the left leading to eventual nephrectomy. The right lithiasis was destroyed by lithotripsy. This result would suggest variable solidity of 2,8 dihydroxyadenine stones. In this patient, an indwelling endoprosthesis was left in place for 14 months for extra-medical reasons and led to staphylococcal urinary infections, struvite lithiasis and incrustations of the catheter within the bladder. Ureteroscopy and percutaneous nephrostomy were required to remove this secondary radio-opaque stone.
Adenine↗
5-hydroxytryptamine stimulates glucose transport in cardiomyocytes via a monoamine oxidase-dependent reaction.
This study deals with the effect of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; serotonin) on glucose transport in isolated rat cardiac myocytes. In these cells, 5-HT (10-300 microns), as well as tryptamine, 5-methoxytryptamine and dopamine, elicited a 3-5 fold increase in glucose transport, as compared with control. This effect was maximal after 90 min, and was concomitant with a 1.8- and 1.5-fold increase in the amounts of glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT4 at the cell surface of the cardiomyocytes, as determined by using the photoaffinity label 3H-2-N-[4-(1-azi-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)benzoyl]-1,3-bis-(D-manno s-4-yl) propyl-2-amine (3H-ATB-BMPA). In contrast, 3-3000 microM of the selective 5-HT receptor agonists 5-carboxyamido-tryptamine, alpha-methyl-serotonin, 2-methyl-serotonin or renzapride failed to stimulate glucose transport. The effect of 5-HT was not affected by (i) the 5-HT receptor antagonists methysergide (1 microM), ketanserin (1 microM), cyproheptadine (1 microM), MDL 72222 (1 microM) or ICS 205-930 (3 microM), nor by (ii) the adrenergic receptor antagonists prazosin (1 microM), yohimbine (1 microM) or propranolol (5 microM), nor by (iii) the dopaminergic antagonists SCH 23390 (1 microM) or haloperidol (1 microM). The monoamine oxidase inhibitors clorgyline (1 microM) and tranylcypromine (1 microM) completely suppressed the effect of 5-HT, whereas the control and insulin-stimulated rates of glucose transport were unaffected. Addition of catalase or glutathione diminished the 5-HT-dependent stimulation of glucose transport by 50%; these two factors are known to favour the degradation of H2O2 (which can be formed during the deamination of amines by monoamine oxidases). Glutathione also depressed the stimulatory action of exogenously added H2O2 (20 microM) by 30%. Furthermore, in cells treated with 5_HT, a time-dependent accumulation of 5-hydroxy-1H-indol-3-ylacetic acid (a product of 5-HT metabolism via monoamine oxidases) was observed, which paralleled the changes in glucose transport. In conclusion, the stimulation of glucose transport by 5-HT in cardiomyocytes is not mediated by a 5-HT1, 5-HT2, 5-HT3 or 5-HT4 receptor, nor by an adrenergic or dopaminergic receptor, but is likely to occur through the degradation of by a monoamine oxidase and concomitant formation of H2O2.
Adrenergic Antagonists↗
Simultaneous cross-linking by two nontriggering bivalent ligands causes synergistic signaling of IgE Fc epsilon RI complexes.
We have used two bivalent ligands that bind IgE to study the relationship between the aggregation of receptors with high affinity for IgE (Fc epsilon RI) and the responses (receptor immobilization, Ca2+ influx, and degranulation) of rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells. One of these is a symmetric bivalent ligand, N,N'-bis[[epsilon-[(2,4-dinitrophenyl)amino]caproyl]-L-tyrosyl]-L- cystine ((DCT)2-cys), which binds specifically to the combining sites of a mAb anti-DNP IgE and efficiently cross-links cell surface IgE, but does not trigger significant degranulation or increases in intracellular Ca2+. Several lines of evidence, including lateral mobility measurements, indicate that this ligand preferentially forms stable cyclic complexes containing two (DCT)2-cys and two IgE. The second ligand is a mAb anti-IgE, B1E3, which causes lateral mobility changes consistent with dimerized IgE-Fc epsilon RI and also does not trigger increases in intracellular Ca2+ or degranulation. The two ligands together trigger robust responses. In the presence of B1E3, (DCT)2-cys causes immobilization of IgE-Fc epsilon RI in a broad concentration range; in a more narrow concentration range, it is a potent stimulant of changes in both degranulation and Ca2+. We have compared the dose-response curves for cellular activation to simulated IgE aggregation curves, i.e., curves that predict the equilibrium IgE aggregate size distribution as a function of the (DCT)2-cys concentration. Our results indicate that maximal cellular activation occurs at a much higher (DCT)2-cys concentration than maximal IgE aggregation. When IgE aggregation is maximal, almost all aggregated IgE is in cyclic dimers. Thus, cyclic dimers appear to be functionally ineffective, even after they have been cross-linked by B1E3. Aggregated IgE-Fc epsilon RI that is effective in stimulating a cellular response may have particular structural or dynamic properties that allow critical interactions for initiating the signaling cascade.
Animals↗
Lymphotoxin-alpha-deficient mice. Effects on secondary lymphoid organ development and humoral immune responsiveness.
Targeted mutagenesis in embryonic stem cells was used to generate mice deficient in lymphotoxin-alpha (LT-alpha). Mice lacking LT-alpha -/- (LT-alpha -/- mice) exhibit a phenotype dominated by defects in secondary lymphoid organ development. LT-alpha -/- mice lack lymph nodes and Peyer's patches, and possess spleens in which the usual architecture is disrupted. However, in a few of the mutants, abnormal lymph node-like structures were observed, mainly within the mesenteric fat. Abnormal clusters of lymphocytes were also found to accumulate in the periportal and perivascular regions of the liver and lung of LT-alpha -/- mice. Yet, lymphocytes from LT-alpha -/- mice appeared phenotypically normal, expressing the expected ratios of B and T cell surface markers as well as the lymphocyte homing marker, L-selectin. In addition, bone marrow cells from LT-alpha -/- mice were able to successfully reconstitute the lymphoid organs of severe combined immunodeficient mice. However, LT-alpha -/- mutant mice examined for humoral immune responsiveness were found to be impaired in their ability to respond to different Ag. These data illustrate the utility of this mouse model as a system for understanding lymphoid organ development and its effects on immune responsiveness.
Animals↗
Acute stimulation of glucose transport by histamine in cardiac microvascular endothelial cells.
The purpose of the present work was to study the acute regulation of glucose uptake in cultured cardiac endothelial cells (CEC). Two types of potential stimuli were considered: (1) agents that are known to acutely stimulate glucose transport (i.e., within minutes) in fat and muscle tissues and (2) agents that influence endothelial cell function. Among the former agents, neither insulin, nor catecholamines (adrenaline, dopamine, phenylephrine), nor serotonin affected the rate of glucose transport in CEC, while SH-group reagents (phenylarsine oxide, diamide or menadione) were inhibitory. Among the factors of the second group that were tested (heparin, ADP, histamine, bradykinin), histamine was found to stimulate glucose transport in CEC by 10-50%. This effect was concentration-dependent (with an EC50 value approximately equal to 12 microM) and reached a maximum within 5 min upon histamine addition. This stimulation of glucose transport was suppressed by pyrilamine (100 nM), a specific H1-receptor antagonist, but not by cimetidine (100 microM), a H2-selective antagonist. Northern blot and Western blot analysis of CEC extracts revealed the presence of the ubiquitous glucose transporter isoform GLUT1 mRNA and protein, but not of the 'insulin-regulatable' isoform GLUT4. In conclusion, this is the first report on an acute stimulation of glucose transport in cardiac endothelial cells, in particular, and in an insulin-unresponsive cell type, in general. The effect of histamine is most likely mediated by H1-receptors and cannot be accounted for by a recruitment of GLUT4.
Adenosine Diphosphate↗
Anomalous Dispersion with Edges in the Soft X-ray Region: First Results of Diffraction from Single Crystals of Ribosomes Near the K-Absorption Edge of Phosphorus.
X-ray diffraction from a single crystal of the small ribosomal subunit of Thermus thermophilus was measured at five wavelengths near the K-absorption edge of phosphorus. The intensity of the low-order diffraction peaks varies strongly with the wavelength. It is influenced by the dispersion of contrast due to the P atoms of the ribosomal ribonucleic acid and by that of absorption, in comparable amounts.
Journal Article↗
Racial differences in the incidence of gout. The role of hypertension.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence of and examine risk factors for the development of gout in black and white male physicians. METHODS: Data from 2 cohorts of former medical students, 352 black men in the Meharry Cohort Study and 571 white men in the Johns Hopkins Precursors Study, were analyzed. Cases of gout were identified by self-report. Baseline variables and incident hypertension were examined as risk factors for the development of gout in both cohorts. RESULTS: The incidence of gout was 3.11 and 1.82 per 1,000 person-years in the black men and the white men, respectively (P < 0.05); the cumulative incidence was 10.9% and 5.8%, respectively (P = 0.04). The relative risk (RR) for gout among the black men was 1.69 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.02-2.80). This excess risk persisted after adjustment for baseline systolic blood pressure (adjusted RR = 1.96 [95% CI 1.14-3.38]). Incident hypertension was independently associated with the development of gout in univariate analysis (RR = 3.78 [95% CI 2.18-6.58]); when this variable was included as a time-dependent covariate in a Cox model, the excess risk for gout in black men was reduced and no longer significant (adjusted RR = 1.30 [95% CI 0.77-2.19]). CONCLUSION: The approximately 2-fold excess risk for gout among black men is explained, in part, by a greater risk of incident hypertension.
Adult↗
The effect of cholinergic stimulation on cultured smooth muscle cells.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the role of cholinergic angonists and antagonists on the growth control of cultured rabbit detrusor smooth muscle cells. DESIGN: Dosage dependent growth curve analysis of smooth muscle cells in standard media to bethanechol and atropine at concentrations from 1 x 10(-5) to 1 x 10(-9) mMol. RESULTS: Exogenous exposure to bethanechol results in a significant dose dependent increase in total cell number over a 10 day period. At a concentration of 1 x 10-6 and 1 x 10-5 mMol a 20% to 50% growth increase is noted. Exogenous atropine at all concentrations decreased growth by approximately five fold. CONCLUSIONS: The exogenous application of muscarinic cholinergic agonists and antagonists can significantly effect bladder muscle cell growth in vitro. The mechanism of growth control through these pharmacological receptors remains to be elucidated.
Animals↗
An unusual case of isolated flexor digitorum profundus laceration.
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Adult↗
Quantification of lymphadenopathy in experimentally induced feline immunodeficiency virus infection in domestic cats.
Nine cats experimentally infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and six FIV-negative cats were necropsied to assess the effect of FIV infection on lymph nodes. The FIV infected cats were inoculated with 10(5) TCID50 21-22 weeks previously. The combined weights of all lymph nodes and the combined lymph node to organ weight ratios were significantly greater in FIV-infected cats when compared to uninfected cats. Additionally, by examining all nodes in the body, a regionally severe lymphadenopathy in FIV-infected cats was evident involving the lymph nodes of the hindlimb, forelimb, and head, in decreasing order of severity, with little evidence of enlargement in lymph nodes of the alimentary tract. Use of 99% confidence intervals showed that 9/9 FIV infected cats had enlarged lymph nodes of the hindlimb and forelimb region. In contrast, 7/9 and 3/9 FIV-infected cats exhibited enlargement of the nodes of the head region and alimentary tract, respectively. Similarly the combined weights of both left and right popliteal lymph nodes were enlarged in 9/9 FIV-infected cats whereas 0/6 in uninfected cats were not. The enlargement of the popliteal lymph nodes observed at necropsy was reflected microscopically by an increase in the size and number of germinal centres and an increase in the number of plasma cells, especially in the medullary cords. Because of the regional variation in lymph node size and numbers, it is suggested that the popliteal lymph node is a good indicator node for the assessment of lymph node status in FIV infection.
Animals↗
Feline immunodeficiency virus replicates in salivary gland ductular epithelium during the initial phase of infection.
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antigen was detected by immunochemistry in salivary glands of cats experimentally inoculated with West Australian isolate T91. Six cats were inoculated subcutaneously with 1.0 ml of tissue culture supernatant fluid from a feline T-lymphoblastoid cell line (MYA-1) infected with T91. FIV antigens were detected in the interlobular ducts of the salivary gland of cats infected with FIV 2, 4 and 6 weeks previously. FIV antigen was not detected in the salivary glands of three FIV negative cats and one naturally infected cat. Further, FIV antigen was located only in interlobular duct epithelial cells. The distribution of FIV in the interlobular ducts confirms the important role of salivary glands as a major reservoir of FIV in the early phase of infection and strengthens suggestions that the salivary route is an important mode of transmission of FIV.
Animals↗
Mitoxantrone, 5-fluorouracil and leucovorin in metastatic breast cancer.
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Adult↗
Tuberculosis epidemiology in Croydon.
A survey of tuberculosis in Croydon between 1988 and 1991, using Chest Clinic health visitor records, showed that the disease occurred most frequently in those of Indian Sub-Continent (ISC) ethnic origin. Of the 222 cases during the 4-year period, 65% were of ISC ethnic origin, 22% were Caucasian and 11% Afro-Caribbean. Non-Caucasian cases were younger (P < 0.0001), and more likely to be female (P = 0.064) or present with non-pulmonary disease (P = 0.064). One-quarter of ISC patients developed active tuberculosis more than 15 years after immigration into the UK. Only seven cases were children. The contact tracing procedure resulted in three additional cases, all of whom were contacts of smear-positive index cases. There were significantly fewer Heaf or radiologically positive contacts of non-smear positive pulmonary, or non-pulmonary index cases (P = 0.0002). The value of the current contact tracing system is discussed.
Adolescent↗
Primary leiomyosarcoma of the diaphragm.
Primary leiomyosarcoma of the diaphragm is extremely rare and only five cases have so far been reported. In the early stages clinical signs are scarce and diagnosis is difficult. The advent of MR-imaging has helped in detecting the origin of a diaphragmatic tumour and its relationship to the adjacent tissues. The highly malignant character of this tumour accounts for the poor prognosis even when radical surgery is performed.
Diagnosis, Differential↗
Seeing and knowing: knowledge attribution versus stimulus control in adult humans (Homo sapiens).
Interest in cognition in nonhuman animals has inspired new approaches to discovering animals' ability to attribute knowledge to others (e.g., D. J. Povinelli, K. E. Nelson, & S. T. Boysen, 1990). The assumptions of such experiments were tested in this study by training a group of humans (Homo sapiens) to use accurate information provided by a confederate who was watching as 1 container among 4 was baited; a 2nd group was similarly trained to use accurate information provided by a confederate whose back was turned during baiting. On a single reversal trial, the roles of the 2 confederates were switched. Subjects were able to learn their respective tasks but attended to different aspects of the confederates, as revealed by the reversal trial. Although attributional interpretations can be applied to such data, many of the choices in this experiment can be explained more readily with the basic principles of contingency-based learning.
Adolescent↗