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Biomedical subjects

K M Miller

Publications and source records attributed to K M Miller.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Occult glove perforation during ophthalmic surgery.

We examined the latex surgical gloves used by 56 primary surgeons in 454 ophthalmic surgical procedures performed over a 7-month period. Of five techniques used to detect pinholes, air inflation with water submersion and compression was found to be the most sensitive, yielding a 6.80% prevalence in control glove pairs and a 21.8% prevalence in postoperative study glove pairs, for a 15.0% incidence of surgically induced perforations (P = 0.000459). The lowest postoperative perforation rate was 11.4% for cataract and intraocular lens surgery, and the highest was 41.7% for oculoplastic procedures. Factors that correlated significantly with the presence of glove perforations as determined by multiple logistic regression analysis were oculoplastic and pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus surgical procedures, surgeon's status as a fellow in training, operating time, and glove size. The thumb and index finger of the nondominant hand contained the largest numbers of pinholes. These data suggest strategies for reducing the risk of cross-infection during ophthalmic surgery.

Chi-Square Distribution↗
PubMed1991

Onchocerca volvulus: characterization of monoclonal antibodies reactive with surface components of third-stage larvae.

Five murine monoclonal antibodies (Mab's) have been produced which are reactive with the surface of the third-stage larvae (L3) of Onchocerca volvulus. These were produced from a fusion performed after intrasplenic injection of 10 live O. volvulus L3. Hybridomas were first screened by Elisa using a PBS extract of O. volvulus female adult worms. Elisa negative wells were screened by IFA on whole formalin-fixed L3. Five Mab's were isolated which were reactive with the surface of L3, all were found to be of the IgM isotype. All five Mab's were cross-reactive with the surface of O. lienalis L3, but not with the L3 of Brugia malayi, B. pahangi, Dirofilaria immitis, or Acanthocheilonema viteae. One of the Mab's, OV3-9, reacted with an antigen common to many species of helminths. The other four were genus specific reacting only with O. volvulus and O. lienalis. All 5 Mab's reacted with L2 of O. volvulus, but not with the L4 by IFA on whole fixed larvae. Only Mab's OV3-8 and OV3-9 reacted with cryosections of adult O. volvulus by IFA indicating that the other 3 Mab's are specific for the surface of L2/L3 of the genus Onchocerca. None of the Mab's reacted with detergent dissociated L3 proteins in Western Blot analysis. The ability of L3 to bind the Mab's was abolished by incubating larvae in either proteinase K or trypsin but was unaffected by incubation of larvae in detergents, or by treatment with periodate, indicating the proteinaceous nature of the Mab specific epitopes. Anti-phosphorylcholine Mab (Gib-13) did not react with the surface of L3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Radioactive fallout reconstruction from contemporary measurements of reservoir sediments.

The temporal history of atmospheric deposition to a watershed area can be preserved in the sediment of a lake or reservoir that is supplied by the watershed. The 137Cs and isotopic Pu concentrations with depth were determined in the sediments of two reservoirs, Enterprise and Deer Creek, which are located in widely separated regions of the state of Utah. Our data not only reconstruct the history of the total radioactive fallout in the area, but also permit estimating the contributions from global sources and from the Nevada Test Site detonations in the 1950s.

Cesium Radioisotopes↗
PubMed1990

Relaxation technique and postoperative pain in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

A two-group pretest and posttest quasi-experimental design was used to determine the effectiveness of a slow, deep-breathing relaxation technique in relieving postoperative pain after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. A convenience sample of 29 subjects was divided into an experimental group (n = 15), who received relaxation training on the evening before surgery and performed the technique after surgery, and a control group (n = 14), who did not receive relaxation training. Analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Significant decreases were demonstrated as a result of relaxation, in blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and report of pain on the visual descriptor scale. No significant differences were seen in analgesic use or visual analogue scale scores. Eleven subjects (73.3%) said the technique was helpful in their pain management. All experimental subjects stated that the relaxation technique was simple to perform, and they would recommend it to others who have postoperative pain.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

An economical procedure for screening of hybridoma supernatants for surface reactive antibodies to filarial larvae.

Third- and fourth-stage larvae of Onchocerca volvulus can be attached to the lids of 96-well microtiter plates to facilitate the screening of hybridoma supernatants reactive with filarial larvae. Plates are coated with a solution consisting of 0.1% gelatin, and 0.01% chrome alum. Following coating of plate lids one larva per depression is placed on the lid. An immunofluorescence assay (IFA) was conducted in which there were two 45 minute incubations and eight separate washes by immersion in PBS. At the completion of the assay over 90% of the larvae remain attached. The background in IFA is minimal and the results are consistent with those obtained using a suspension IFA. This technique permits rapid identification of antibody producing hybridomas with small numbers of larvae.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

In vitro stimulation of fibroblast activity by factors generated from human monocytes activated by biomedical polymers.

Biomedical polymers used in constructing implantable artificial devices may affect host responses to the material and ultimately contribute to the success or failure of a device via mechanisms of cell-polymer interactions. Human peripheral blood monocytes (MO) cultured in the presence of several such biomedical polymers released factors that stimulated fibroblast proliferation and/or collagen synthesis. The factors that stimulated fibroblast proliferation were differentially released from monocytes cultured in the presence of Dacron, polyethylene, expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), polydimethylsiloxane, and polystyrene (control). Supernatants obtained from monocytes cultured in the presence of Biomer, a segmented polyetherurethane, were unable to stimulate fibroblast proliferation. However, supernatants from all cultures, including MO-Biomer cultures, were able to induce collagen production from the same target fibroblasts. These same supernatants also were shown to contain interleukin 1 (IL1) activity. Neutralization of the fibroblast stimulatory potential (FSP) activity with antibodies directed against human IL1 and human PDGF demonstrated that IL1 and not PDGF was responsible for the FSP activity. Results of this study show that by affecting macrophage activation, different biomedical polymers can affect host biocompatibility responses by altering fibroblast proliferation and function.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Generation of IL-1-like activity in response to biomedical polymer implants: a comparison of in vitro and in vivo models.

Of the many factors determining host biocompatibility responses to implanted biomedical polymers, the cellular interactions at the tissue/material interface have been recognized to be some of the most important. The present study has combined results both from an in vitro cell culture system and from an in vivo animal model to examine this host response. In vitro results suggest that a variety of polymer materials can differentially activate human monocytes to produce a protein(s) having different biological activities. The polymers tested induce the production of the regulatory inflammatory protein interleukin 1 as well as a factor that enhances fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis. The observed activities of these factors appear to be related but not identical, and are dependent upon the specific polymer. Evaluation of exudate and tissue responses to these same polymer materials in an in vivo model are also presented. Both in vitro and in vivo results support the hypothesis that monocyte/macrophage activation with subsequent synthesis of regulatory factors such as interleukin 1 plays a significant role in determining the host response to biomedical polymer implants.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Characterization of biomedical polymer-adherent macrophages: interleukin 1 generation and scanning electron microscopy studies.

Macrophage activation following attachment to biomedical polymers was studied using two systems of analysis. Supernatants generated by human peripheral blood monocytes cultured on the surface of several different biomedical polymers were evaluated for the presence of the secreted regulatory protein interleukin 1 (IL1). In addition, each cell-polymer culture surface was subjected to scanning electron microscopy for gross morphological evaluation. Results indicate that, although all materials were efficient in the attachment and activation of cells, the panel of polymers showed a differential capacity in attachment and activation of monocytes. Dacron and polyethylene surfaces had a greater density of cells showing morphology indicative of activation, corresponding to elevated levels of IL1 in these cultures. Biomer and polydimethylsiloxane surfaces showed fewer activated cells and had lower IL1 levels in culture. Expanded polytetrafluorethylene resulted in intermediate levels of IL1 and attached cells showing activated morphology.

Biocompatible Materials↗