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Biomedical subjects

K Moore

Publications and source records attributed to K Moore.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

Augmentative communication for the non-speaking child.

In this article, the term non-speaking will be used to refer to those individuals who have limited or no functional speech because of severe physical impairment, neuromuscular or cognitive deficit and whose communication impairment is not due primarily to a hearing problem. Augmentative communication has developed in order to compensate for impairments and disabilities of the non-speaking individual. It is all communication that supplements speech. Pediatric dental patients who may benefit from augmentative communication systems include those with cerebral palsy, multihandicaps, severe mental retardation and autism. The communication board is given as an example of an augmentative communication system. It is a visual display which can use symbols, pictures, letters and words. It allows the non-speaking child to communicate either by listener-assisted scanning or pointing directly to the symbol or word with their hand or eye-gaze, or with an aid such as a pointer or light. A communication board for use in the pediatric dental setting is described. The pediatric dentist should consult with the speech-language pathologist, family/caretaker, special educator/teacher, and health care members when deciding on communication systems for the non-speaking child in the dental setting. Augmentative communication systems need to be individualized for each non-speaking child. The systems need constant evaluation and updating also as the child develops. The ultimate aim of augmentative communication is to help the non-speaking child to have a more active and fulfilling role in everyday life.

Child↗

Plasma endothelin immunoreactivity in liver disease and the hepatorenal syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Severe renal vasoconstriction is central to the pathogenesis of renal failure in the hepatorenal syndrome. Endothelin-1 and endothelin-3 are potent, long-acting vasoconstrictors, and endothelin-1 has selective potency as a renal vasoconstrictor. These properties suggest a role for endothelins in the hepatorenal syndrome. METHODS: We measured plasma endothelin-1 and endothelin-3 concentrations using specific radioimmunoassays in subjects with hepatorenal syndrome, liver disease but normal renal function, chronic renal failure, acute renal failure, liver dysfunction and renal impairment, or normal liver and kidney function. RESULTS: The patients with the hepatorenal syndrome had markedly elevated mean (+/- SE) plasma concentrations of endothelin-1 (36 +/- 5 ng per liter [14.5 +/- 1.8 pmol per liter]) and endothelin-3 (43 +/- 3 ng per liter [16.3 +/- 1.0 pmol per liter]) as compared with the normal subjects (endothelin-1, 4 +/- 1 ng per liter [1.7 +/- 0.2 pmol per liter]; and endothelin-3, 18 +/- 1 ng per liter [6.8 +/- 0.4 pmol per liter]; P < 0.001) and with the patients in the other four groups (P < 0.001 to P < 0.05). The plasma endothelin-1, but not endothelin-3, concentrations in these four patient groups were significantly higher than in the normal subjects (P < 0.001 to P < 0.05). The concentrations of endothelin-1 in renal arterial plasma and renal venous plasma, measured in five patients with the hepatorenal syndrome and three with chronic liver disease and normal renal function, were 20 +/- 4 ng per liter (7.9 +/- 1.8 pmol per liter) and 24 +/- 4 ng per liter (9.5 +/- 1.5 pmol per liter), respectively (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The increase in plasma endothelin-1 and endothelin-3 concentrations in patients with the hepatorenal syndrome is consistent with the hypothesis that these substances have a role in the pathogenesis of the disease.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

A combined pseudoreplica-immunochemical technique for research and diagnostic virology.

Pseudoreplica and immunochemical techniques were combined in a single protocol for identification of virus in research and clinical specimens. Stock preparations of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), and herpes simplex virus (HSV) were used to develop the technique. Traditional pseudoreplicas of viral stock solutions were prepared but not negatively stained. The virus was then immunolabeled in two stages. Virus-specific polyclonal antisera were used in the first stage; colloidal gold conjugated antibodies were used as indicator antibody in the second stage. After immunolabeling, the grids were negatively stained. As a demonstration of the clinical usefulness of this approach, it was employed to antenatally identify human parvovirus B19 particles in ascites from a 22 week gestational fetus with nonimmune hydrops fetalis. The combined pseudoreplica-immunochemical approach offers several advantages over both the pseudoreplica and immunochemical methods when used in isolation. Advantages include relative purification of samples, concentration of virus, morphological preservation, and enhanced diagnostic specificity.

Cytomegalovirus↗

Complete enzymatic deglycosylation of native sex steroid-binding protein (SBP or SHBG) of human and rabbit plasma: effect on the steroid-binding activity.

An enzymatic procedure for the complete removal of the N-linked and O-linked oligosaccharide side chains of the sex steroid-binding proteins (SBP or SHBG) of human and rabbit plasma under native conditions is described. Deglycosylation was catalyzed by N-glycanase, neuraminidase, and O-glycanase and was monitored by SDS-PAGE, lectin blotting, and molecular weight analyses by electrospray mass spectrometry. Digestion of rabbit SBP with N-glycanase generated a major 39,777-Da protein and two minor ones of 39,389 and 39,545 Da. The molecular weight of the major protein agrees with the molecular weight calculated from the sequence of the sugar-free polypeptide monomer (39,769 Da: Griffin, P.R., Kumar, S., Shabanowitz, J., Charbonneau, H., Namkung, P.C., Walsh, K.A., Hunt, D.F., & Petra, P.H., 1989, J. Biol. Chem. 264, 19066-19075), whereas the other two are deglycosylated proteolytic cleavage products lacking the TQR and TQ sequences at the amino-terminus. The N- and O-linked side chains of human SBP were removed by sequential digestion with N-glycanase and neuraminidase/O-glycanase. A 38,771-Da protein was generated, which agrees well with the molecular weight of the sugar-free polypeptide monomer (Walsh, K.A., Titani, K., Kumar, S., Hayes, R., & Petra, P.H., 1986, Biochemistry 25, 7584-7590). N-deglycosylation of human and rabbit SBP has no effect on the steroid-binding activity, but removal of the O-linked side chains of N-deglycosylated human SBP results in an apparent 50% loss of steroid-binding activity and an increase in the Kd for the binding of 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone from 0.3 mM to 0.9 nM.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Benefits of mentorship.

The potential benefits to individuals and organisations of mentorship, why these benefits are not always exploited to the full within the health service, and new approaches to mentorship to overcome these problems are outlined by Kevin Moore.

Administrative Personnel↗

Low energy high frequency pulsed electromagnetic therapy for acute whiplash injuries. A double blind randomized controlled study.

The standard treatment of acute whiplash injuries (soft collar and analgesia) is frequently unsuccessful. Pulsed electromagnetic therapy PEMT (as pulsed 27 MHz) has been shown to have pro-healing and anti-inflammatory effects. This study examines the effect of PEMT on the acute whiplash syndrome. One half of the 40 patients entering the study received active PEMT collars: the other half facsimile (placebo). All patients were given instructions to wear the collar for eight hours a day at home and advised to mobilise their necks. At 2 and 4 weeks the actively treated group had significantly improved (p less than 0.05) in terms of pain (visual analogue scale). By chance movement scores for the PEMT group were significantly worse at entry to the study than the control group (p less than 0.05). At 12 weeks they had become significantly better (p less than 0.05). PEMT as described is safe for domiciliary use and this study suggests that PEMT has a beneficial effect in the management of the acute whiplash injury.

Accidents, Traffic↗

In vivo effects of multiple cycles of recombinant interleukin-2 (IL2) on peripheral granulocyte-macrophage hematopoietic progenitors circulating in the blood of cancer patients.

The numbers of peripheral blood (PB) granulocyte-macrophage colony forming units (CFU-GM) were evaluated in five patients treated with multiple weekly cycles of recombinant interleukin-2 (IL2). A 4.5-12 fold increase in the number of CFU-GM was evident within 8 days after the beginning of the treatment. The maximal increase in the absolute numbers of CFU-GM/ml blood caused by the IL2 treatment, ranged from 14 to 57 times the baseline values and was reached after two or three cycles of IL2. IL2-activated PBMC, added in vitro to the PBMC of a normal donor did not modify the number of CFU-GM present in the donor PBMC. CFU-GM were also recovered from frozen samples of in vivo IL2-activated PBMC.

Drug Administration Schedule↗

Multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization and pulsed field electrophoresis dissect CMT1B gene region.

We have used multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization of banded chromosomes to orient Fc gamma RII and clone 1054 on a single early metaphase chromosome band (1q22) representing about 2% of the physical map of chromosome 1 in the Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT1B) gene region. These two cloned fragments are on the same partially digested 900-kb MluI fragment detected by pulsed field gel electrophoresis. When applied to data from an earlier study, multicolor in situ hybridization results further refined the CMT1B genetic location from an 18 cM interval to a 6 cM interval and the physical map from 15% of chromosome 1 to 3% of chromosome 1. Occasionally the three Fc gamma RII immunoglobulin receptor genes within the 200-kb region are resolved in individual metaphase chromatids.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease↗

Systemic and renal production of thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin in decompensated liver disease and hepatorenal syndrome.

To assess the role of altered renal and systemic production of thromboxane A2 and prostacyclin in the hepatorenal syndrome, urinary excretion of their major renal and extrarenal metabolites was measured in patients with compensated and decompensated liver disease, chronic renal failure, and hepatorenal syndrome. Urinary excretion rates of all prostanoids (renal and extrarenal) were increased in subjects with liver disease compared with normal controls. Moreover, they were considerably higher in subjects with severe hepatic decompensation but good renal function compared with those with hepatorenal syndrome. In contrast, the excretion rate of all metabolites was reduced in patients with chronic renal failure. The excretion rate of all metabolites was markedly elevated during the early stages of hepatorenal syndrome and decreased in parallel with creatinine clearance. When corrected for creatinine clearance, there was a strong correlation between prostanoid excretion and serum bilirubin in subjects with liver disease; there was no difference, however, in the excretion of renal and extrarenal prostanoids between hepatorenal syndrome and severe hepatic decompensation. It is concluded that hepatic decompensation is associated with a progressive increase in prostanoid excretion but that changes in production of prostacyclin or thromboxane A2 are unlikely to be major factors in the pathogenesis of the hepatorenal syndrome.

Adult↗

Factors driving costs must figure into reform.

Employers and employees seeing their health plan premium costs rise faster than physician and hospital costs is one indication that the U.S. healthcare system is in a state of crisis. Examining factors behind providers' and health plans' costs--demographics, increased hospital expenses, insurance overhead, fragmentation among managed care plans, and failure of some cost-containment initiatives--indicates the shape healthcare reform must take if it is to succeed. Reform proposals in the 1990s likely will entail simplification and consolidation, such as providing universal access, consolidating managed care, and establishing a single-payer system.

Canada↗