Stroke: the long road back.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to K Moore.
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Neuropeptide tyrosine (NPY) is the predominant peptide in the innervation of many human tissues and is considered to play a role in the regulation of blood flow, gastrointestinal secretion and motility, and renal function. Three NPY receptors have been identified (Y1, Y2, and Y3) and the cDNAs encoding the human Y1 and bovine Y3 receptors have recently been cloned. We have demonstrated the expression of the Y1 receptor subtype in several fetal and adult human tissues, including the colon, kidney, adrenal gland, heart, and placenta. A single transcript was identified (approximately 2.2 kb) and localized in tissue sections by in situ hybridization. In the colon the receptor is expressed in the mucosa and basal glands, as well as the myenteric and submucous plexuses. Y1 receptor mRNA was detected in renal collecting ducts, loop of Henle, and juxtaglomerular apparatus and in the syncytiotrophoblast layer of placental villi. Fetal aorta and adult intramyocardial, colonic, and renal blood vessels also exhibited receptor expression, localized to the intima as well as the media. The distribution of Y1 receptor expression correlates with that of NPY-immunoreactive nerves and the apparent actions of NPY in the intestine, kidney, and heart. Although the placenta is devoid of nerves, an NPY-like transcript was detected in the villous trophoblast layer. The results indicate a tissue-specific regulation of NPY Y1 receptor expression.
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One-cell cattle embryos were prepared by in vitro oocyte maturation and fertilization (IVM/IVF) and cultured with or without oviductal cells. Embryos were evaluated after 7 days in culture to determine the percentage developing from the 1-cell stage to the morula or blastocyst stage. The combination of glycine (2 mM) and alanine (1 mM) with oviductal cells (experiment 1) improved embryo development over that in control culture (29 vs. 13%; p < 0.05). An optimum response was obtained with 10 mM glycine and 1 mM alanine in coculture (experiments 2 and 3). In experiment 4, the effects of glycine (0 or 10 mM), alanine (0 or 1 mM), and the presence or absence of oviductal cells were tested. In the absence of oviductal cells, the addition of glycine, alanine, or glycine and alanine combined improved embryonic development over that in control medium (45, 33, 42 vs. 24%, p < 0.001, p < 0.05, p < 0.001, respectively). However, the effect of the combination of glycine and alanine was not different from that of glycine alone when oviductal cells were absent (42 vs. 45%, p > 0.10). In the presence of oviductal cells, glycine or the combination of glycine and alanine improved embryonic development over that in the control medium with cells (47, 55 vs 37%, p < 0.01, respectively). However, supplementation with alanine alone gave no improvement over controls when oviductal cells were present (40 vs. 37%, p > 0.10). These results indicate that glycine and alanine, when used independently, directly affect cattle embryo development, but in combination affect embryo development indirectly, possibly by altering oviductal cell function.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Determining a critical care unit design can be a complex and sometimes overwhelming task. Even so, through group participation the project can be an opportunity for developing collaborative relationships and having fun as well. Collaborative decision making can prevent unnecessary duplication, promote greater staff satisfaction, and improve overall cost containment. The article describes the collaborative approach used at Elizabeth Community Health Center in Lincoln, Nebraska to plan the design of the critical care unit, staff orientation, the open house, and the move process.
Invasive monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) plays an important role in managing many neurosurgical patients. While there are several techniques available to monitor ICP, the ventricular catheter is most commonly used and the most accurate. ICP monitoring poses potential risks to the patient. The most common and one of the most devastating complications is infection. This research study examined the rate of bacterial ventriculitis in relation to duration of ventricular catheter insertion as well as other factors which may contribute to ventriculitis. Data were collected prospectively on 78 patients with a ventriculostomy who were 14 years of age or older and admitted to the neuroscience intensive care unit. Patients were followed from the time of ventricular catheter placement to two weeks after the catheter was removed or until the patient was discharged from the hospital. A significantly higher ventriculitis rate was found in patients with a mean catheter duration of 11 days or longer (p = .004). In the group that developed ventriculitis there was a significant rise (means = 6.03592, p = .014) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lactate prior to the onset of ventriculitis. Neuroscience nurses should be aware of the factors which may increase the rate of ventriculitis, such as duration of catheter placement and factors which may indicate impending infection such as a rise in the CSF lactate. Future studies should compare various methods of ventriculostomy site care for efficacy of infection prevention, cost and caregiver time.
The antidepressant efficacy and side effect profile of a fixed dose of 20 mg/day of fluoxetine, a specific serotonin reuptake inhibitor, were compared to those of amitriptyline. Fifty-eight patients with DSM-III-R depression were randomly assigned to receive either fluoxetine or amitriptyline. Fifty-six patients (fluoxetine N = 23, amitriptyline N = 23) completed the 6 week study. Comparable antidepressant efficacy was demonstrated for the two drugs. Patients taking fluoxetine reported less side-effects than those taking amitriptyline.
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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.
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Computers are an essential component of most quality initiatives and in resource management. The project nurse role has been devised to ensure staff are consulted in the procurement process, and that a computer system is chosen which meets their needs.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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