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Biomedical subjects

K C Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to K C Taylor.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2002

Environmental impacts of the foot and mouth disease outbreak in Great Britain in 2001: the use of risk analysis to manage the risks in the countryside.

Restrictions imposed for more than ten months throughout Great Britain in 2001 to control and eradicate foot and mouth disease (FMD) had a damaging effect on tourism and rural businesses. Risk assessment can play a valuable role in ensuring that the action taken is proportionate to the risk, and that countryside activities are allowed to resume when this can be done without compromising the objective of controlling and eradicating the disease. A risk assessment unit was established at the commencement of the epidemic to consider the risks posed by particular activities, to identify ways of managing those risks, and to make recommendations which could be used by policy makers when deciding what action to take. The assessments produced by the unit were published and the scientific rationale which supported policy and procedural changes was thereby exposed to public scrutiny and criticism. The author lists the activities subjected to veterinary risk assessments and describes how the process was used to consider public access to the countryside, leading to policy changes which within nine months resulted in the reopening of more than 96% of footpaths and bridleways without causing new outbreaks of FMD. A completed risk assessment is also included.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

4-nitroimidazole binding to horse metmyoglobin: evidence for preferential anion binding.

The ionization of 4-nitroimidazole to 4-nitroimidazolate was investigated as a function of ionic strength. The apparent pKa varies from 8.99 to 9.50 between 0.001 and 1.0 M ionic strength, respectively, at 25 degrees C. The ionic strength dependence of this ionization is anomalous. The binding of 4-nitroimidazole by horse metmyoglobin was studied between pH 5.0 and 11.5 and as a function of ionic strength between 0.01 and 1.0 M. The association rate constant is pH-dependent, varying from 24 M(-1)s(-1) at pH 5 to a maximum value of 280 M(-1)s(-1) at pH 9.5 and then decreasing to 10 M(-1)s(-1) at pH 11.5 in 0.1 M ionic strength buffers. The dissociation rate constant has a much smaller pH dependence, varying from 0.082 s(-1) at low pH to 0.035 s(-1) at high pH, with an apparent pKa of 6.5. The binding affinity of 4-nitroimidazole to horse metmyoglobin is about 2.5 orders of magnitude stronger than that for imidazole and this increased affinity is attributed to the much slower dissociation rate for 4-nitroimidazole compared to that of imidazole. Although the ionic strength dependence of the binding rate is small and secondary kinetic salt effects can account for the ionic strength dependence of the association rate constant, the pH dependence of the rate constants and microscopic reversibility arguments indicate that the anionic form of the ligand binds more rapidly to all forms of metmyoglobin than does the neutral form of the ligand. However, the spectrum of the complex is similar to model complexes involving neutral imidazole and not imidazolate. The latter observation suggests that the initial metmyoglobin/4-nitroimidazolate complex rapidly binds a proton and the neutral form of the bound ligand is stabilized, probably through hydrogen binding with the distal histidine.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

'BSE briefing'.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Purification of a Zn-binding phloem protein with sequence identity to chitin-binding proteins.

In citrus blight, a decline disorder of unknown etiology, the tree canopy exhibits symptoms of Zn deficiency while Zn accumulates in the trunk phloem. We have purified a Zn-binding protein (ZBP) from phloem tissue of healthy and blight-affected citrus (Citrus sinensis [L.] Osbeck on Citrus jambhiri [L.]). The molecular weight of the ZBP was estimated to be 5000 by size-exclusion chromatography and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Ion-exchange chromatography at pH 8.0 demonstrated the 5-kD ZBP to be anionic. A partial N-terminal amino acid sequence revealed a cysteine-, glycine-rich domain with 45 to 80% identity with the chitin-binding domain of hevein, wheat germ agglutinin, and several class I chitinases. That the abundance of this protein increased 2.5-fold in association with Zn accumulation in the phloem is characteristic of citrus blight. Tissue mass changes of the phloem suggests that altered tissue structure accompanies blight. Phloem accumulation of the 5-kD ZBP may be in response to wounding or other stress of blight-affected citrus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Provision of dental pensions.

Compulsory financial commitments are seldom popular. Once one such expenditure, which has been required spending for those working in the NHS for up to 40 years, becomes no longer mandatory, it is hardly surprising that those who are suddenly presented with an opportunity to reconsider their position should seek to explore the alternatives. Indeed, it is wise to do so.

Economics, Dental↗
PubMed1980

A review of some animal diseases encountered at meat inspections in England and Wales, 1969 to 1978.

Condemnation of meat and offal in 65 selected abattoirs in England and Wales is reviewed. Returns cover about 14 per cent of animals slaughtered for food. In the decade under review, a marked reduction in losses caused by fascioliasis was noted in cattle and sheep, while other parasitic conditions show no decrease. Abscesses continue to be substantial cause of loss in cattle and pigs. Condemnation on account of bruising has increased.

Animals↗