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Biomedical subjects

J Weber

Publications and source records attributed to J Weber.

At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

The expression in Escherichia coli of sequences coding for the p18 protein of human immunodeficiency virus and the use of the recombinant protein in characterizing a panel of monoclonal antibodies against the viral p18 protein.

The sequences coding for the p18 protein of CBL-1, a British human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 isolate, were expressed in Escherichia coli as beta-galactosidase fusion proteins. The recombinant proteins were used to screen a panel of five monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) raised against p18 expressed in CBL-1-infected cells. The regions containing the epitopes for four of the MAbs were located using carboxy deletion mutants and synthetic peptides. The epitope of one of the MAbs (1D9) was reconstructed as part of an unfused, E. coli-expressed p18 protein using the polymerase chain reaction technique. Four different HIV strains and one lymphadenopathy virus type 2 strain were analysed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting of live infected cells using the p18-reactive MAbs.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Impact of dental conditions on patients' quality of life.

Quality of life measures have rarely been used in dentistry to assess oral health status. The purpose of this paper is to assess the utility of using standard indicators to measure the impacts of dental conditions on patients' quality of life. Quality of life was conceptualized as a multidimensional construct including three major aspects: social functioning, measured by the Sickness Impact Profile; well-being, measured by the Gill Well-Being Scale, Spielberger State/Trait Anxiety Scale, and the Corah Dental Anxiety Scale; and symptoms, measured by the Kiyak Oral Functioning Scale, the McGill Pain Questionnaire, and the West Haven Multidimensional Pain Inventory. 152 patients were recruited from private dental practices consisting of 48 TMJ, 33 periodontal, 23 denture, and 48 recall patients. Patients in the first three groups reported numerous impacts on quality of life and the impacts were particularly severe for the TMJ patients. The indicators used were sensitive to differences among the four groups and hold promise for further development of quality of life indicators for use in epidemiologic surveys and clinical dental trials.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1989

Studies of bronchoalveolar lavage cells and fluids in pulmonary sarcoidosis. II. Enhanced capacity of bronchoalveolar lavage fluids from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis to induce cell movement in vitro.

The ability to increase the motility of endothelial cells in vitro is a property common to most if not all angiogenesis-inducing factors. Because bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis have an enhanced capacity to induce neovascularization, the BAL fluids from these patients were assessed for their effect on human and murine endothelial cells and fibroblasts obtained from a variety of tissue sources. A recently developed computer-assisted image analysis system was used to determine the extent and pattern of cell migration in a microwell screening assay. Data were obtained for BAL fluids from 10 patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis and from five normal volunteers. BAL supernatants from patients with active sarcoidosis showed an enhanced (2- to 8-fold) capacity to induce chemokinesis of both endothelial cells and fibroblasts, as measured by increased area of migration and polarized cell movement. There was a marked heterogeneity in the motility of cells from different organ origins, but enhanced cell movement was observed with both endothelial cells and fibroblasts. In contrast, BAL fluids from normal and sarcoid patients were similar in their effect on muscle cells and urothelial cells, whereas pericytes, which responded to BAL fluids from normal subjects or patients with nongranulomatous pulmonary disease, were inhibited by BAL fluids from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis. The induction of endothelial cell movement in vitro induced by individual supernatants generally correlated with the capacity of BAL cells from these patients to induce angiogenesis in vivo.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Enterobacter bacteremia: a review of 58 episodes.

This report reviews 58 episodes of enterobacter bacteremia in 55 patients during a 66-month period at a 750-bed community teaching hospital in USA. The median age of patients was 65 years and 38% of the patients were older than 70 years. All patients had underlying conditions: rapidly fatal (7%), ultimately fatal (33%) and non-fatal (60%). Nosocomial acquisition of bacteremia occurred in 72% of episodes. 20 episodes (34.5%) were polymicrobial bacteremia. The major portal of entry was the lungs (34%). The overall mortality was 69%. Factors that adversely influenced the mortality rate were nosocomial acquisition (p less than 0.02), rapidly fatal and ultimately fatal underlying conditions (p less than 0.02), and lungs as the portal of entry (p less than 0.05).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Enhancement of bleomycin-induced DNA damage by exposing isolated DNA to high concentrations of the calcium antagonist verapamil.

The calcium antagonist verapamil was found to enhance synergistically the DNA (desoxyribonucleic acid) strand breakage activity of the radiomimetic antitumor agent bleomycin in vitro. The induction of single and double strand breaks in isolated DNA was investigated by agarose gel electrophoresis. Three types of DNA (two plasmids and one native eukaryotic DNA) were used as target molecules. The effect of verapamil was concentration dependent (concentration range tested: 0.75-3.0 mmol/l). However, at those low concentrations, as they were used in cytotoxicity assays and cytogenetic experiments, no potentiating effect of verapamil on bleomycin action could be observed. The significance of these findings is discussed with respect to various hypothesis concerning the potentiation of tumor drug efficiency by verapamil and other calcium antagonists.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Treatment of peritonitis in continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) with intraperitoneal cefazolin and gentamicin.

Between 1983 and 1988 57 peritonitis episodes in an unselected patient population were initially treated with intraperitoneal cefazolin and gentamicin. The loading dose consisted of 500 mg cefazolin/L dialysate and 40 mg gentamicin/L dialysate. The maintenance dosage was 125 mg cefazolin and 8 mg gentamicin per liter dialysate. Forty-five (78.9%) patients were primarily cured with this regimen (responder group = RG). Twelve patients (21.1%) did not respond to the initial therapy (nonresponder group = NG). Eight peritonitis episodes in the NG (14.0% of all patients) were caused by tunnel infections and 2 by diverticulitis (3.5%). The cure rate in patients without tunnel infection or bowel disease was 95.7%. A relapse occurred in 2 patients (3.5%). Duration of therapy was assessed by daily white blood cell count (WBC) in the effluent and treatment was discontinued when the WBC was less than 100/microliters for 3 days. The mean duration of therapy with cefazolin and gentamicin was 8.1 days in the RG and 6.0 days in the NG. Nonresponders were subsequently treated with a modified antibiotic regimen on an average 11.9 days.

Catheters, Indwelling↗
PubMed1989

[Role of the victim in the expert assessment of the offender].

Now that criminal biology is considered obsolete and interactionistic criminology has come into being, even the forensic expert is keen on uncovering a possible contribution to the crime by the victim. It is especially in the case of "relationship crimes" that knowledge of the victimogenic aspects is a valuable help towards understanding the psychology of the offender. Three case examples are presented showing how "latent" victims maneouvre themselves unintentionally (unconsciously?) into the role of the "substitute victim" and thus serve as a projection screen for the offender's desires or disappointments that had orginally been directed at another partner.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferative disorder. Applications of immunoperoxidase and molecular biologic techniques.

A 17-year-old boy with fever and cervical lymphadenopathy developed multiple-organ failure and died three weeks after hospital admission. A lymph node biopsy specimen demonstrated a florid immunoblastic infiltrate that was suspicious for a malignant lymphoma. By using immunoperoxidase and molecular biologic techniques, evidence was presented for an Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferative disorder.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

[Retinopathic visual loss in hemorrhagic necrotizing pancreatitis].

Pancreatic retinopathies have been described with reference to case histories since 1975. Descriptions differed greatly from each other with regard to onset, development, and residual vision along with impairment. Two of the author's own cases are reported in this paper. Agreement with pathological patterns published elsewhere (alcohol-related genesis, age) are compared to points of difference (juncture of manifestation, final condition). Aetiology has proved to be of multifactorial nature, with presence and involvement of fat embolism or granulocyte aggregation being possible. Reference is made to elements with relevance to prognosis. The demand is made for no-delay treatment and routine checks.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1989

[Determining organ doses in the uterus during dental x-ray examinations].

It was the goal of this study to determine the uterine exposure to radiation during dental x-ray examinations and to assess the inherent radiation hazard to the fetus. The mean organ dose for the most common examination procedures was found to be 0.4 muSv (0.004 mrem) per radiograph. This figure may be reduced by a factor 2 when the patient wears a protective apron that meets the requirements of the German industrial standard DIN 6813. According to these results, dental radiography--of all diagnostic radiography procedures--involves the least radiation risk to the fetus. Based on ICRP's (International Commission on Radiation Protection) considerations on radiation risk and on the assumption of a linear dose-response relationship it may be concluded that there cannot be one case in a million pregnant women exposed to a uterine dose of 0.2 muSv where a fatal event has to be assumed.

Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation↗
PubMed1989

Cell cycle dependence of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced tumour development in the proliferating, partially resected rat urinary bladder.

In the present experiments the dependence of tumour induction upon the different phases of the cell cycle in the proliferating urinary bladder was examined. For stimulation of urothelial proliferation, a one-third resection of the bladder was performed in female Wistar rats. To synchronize the proliferating urothelial cells, hydroxyurea (HU) was given in 23 fractionated, consecutive intraperitoneal doses (0.1 mg/g body weight each) at hourly intervals shortly prior to and during maximal proliferation (between 33 and 55 h following partial cystectomy). The direct-acting urothelial carcinogen N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) was administered as a single, intravesicular pulse dose (5 mg/kg body weight) during the different cell cycle phases and to control animals with a non-resected, quiescent bladder (G0-phase). The incidence of urothelial bladder tumours was 32.6% in the controls. By comparison, the tumour incidences were 18.9, 9.3, 21.7, 26.3, 25.0 and 30.0%, respectively, when MNU was instilled during the late G1-, early and late S-, G2 + M-, and the early and late postmitotic phase. The results obtained from a total of 283 rats thus clearly document a cell-cycle-specific inhibition of MNU-induced tumour development in the proliferating urinary bladder, particularly when the carcinogen was administered during the early S-phase (P less than 0.016). There were no differences in the histology and extension of the urothelial bladder tumours found in the different experimental groups. MNU has also been shown to produce urothelial tumours in the renal pelvis (overall tumour incidence: 3.2%) and ureters (1.4%) as well as mesenchymal tumours in the bladder (4.9%) and kidneys (1.4%). Conclusions are tentatively drawn about the mechanisms underlying the observed cell-cycle-specific inhibition of urothelial carcinogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

The effects of temporomandibular joint disorders on patients' quality of life.

A sample of 30 patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction was studied in order to investigate the sensitivity of quality of life indicators to the impact of this condition. Patients from four private dental practices were referred into the study and they completed mailed questionnaires at their initial visit to the dentist, at one month and at six months from the first visit. The questionnaire collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, symptoms, perceptions and functional capacity. Indicators of social dysfunction, pain and anxiety were most sensitive to the condition, showing significant changes over time with treatment. However, clinical measures of perceived oral functioning, such as clicking, popping and biting ability, did not change significantly over time. The findings suggest that social dysfunction associated with this condition is likely to recur given that problems with oral functioning are not resolved. Future research should be aimed at investigating the social and psychological conditions under which temporomandibular problems lead to exacerbation of pain and resulting social dysfunction.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Comparative cinematographic, endoscopic and functional analytic studies of the pre- and postoperative evaluation of the severity of the tracheobronchial collapse syndrome].

Sixty eight adults of both sexes (33 patients with clinically and endoscopically verified tracheobronchial collapse; 35 persons without disease of the central airways) underwent continuous cinetracheographic studies of the wall-movements of the central airways during various respiratory maneuvers. The insufflation of powdered tantalum for a better outlining of the contours of the central airways was preferably done in local anaesthesia via an orotracheally inserted catheter. Studies of wall-movement were made in recumbent position during forced breathing and violent coughing in various obliquities using a 35 mm-camera. The percentage of diameter-shortening during expiration (forced breathing; violent coughing) in relation to the inspiratory diameter during the same breathing-maneuver was measured in 4 or 3 projections respectively at 5 localities (cervical trachea; thoracic outlet; thoracic trachea 1 cm above the bifurcation; right and left main bronchus, 1 cm distant from bifurcation). Out of maximally 17 single numerical values per examination the highest single value was selected as the so-called "maximal relative diameter-shortening" - independent of locality and projection. In healthy persons the mean value amounts to 22.4 +/- 15.44% (means +/- SD) during forced breathing and to 75.5 +/- 11.72% during violent coughing. Patients with a tracheobronchial collapse differ from healthy persons, the former having a value of 100% during violent coughing. This is equivalent to a brief contact of the membranous part to the ventral circumference of the trachea (total cough-collapse) at least at one locality in one projection. Out of a number of 28 patients 17 cases (group H) revealed a normal "maximal relative diameter-shortening" of 29.7 +/- 21.57% during forced breathing. In addition to the total cough-collapse 11 patients (group F) exhibited an increased prolapse-tendency of the membranous part during forced breathing, too; the mean value of the "maximal relative diameter-shortening" amounted to 80.5 +/- 16.15%. Pathological shortening-values are mainly measured at the intrathoracic trachea in the lateral and both oblique projections. The cinetracheobronchographic examination should be used in patients with endoscopic signs of a tracheobronchial collapse-syndrome if an operative procedure with tautening is taken into consideration. In the case of mere clinical suspicion of the presence of a collapse-syndrome the assessment of the wall-motility is non-invasively possible by means of cinetracheography without a contrast-agent.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Bronchi↗