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Biomedical subjects

K Turner

Publications and source records attributed to K Turner.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

Factors affecting measurement of total alkaline phosphatase activity in human serum, especially wavelength accuracy.

Serum alkaline phosphatase estimations by the Selected Method [Clin. Chem. 21, 1988 (1975)] are very sensitive to small errors in the wavelength setting of the spectrophotometer. With a setting error as small as 3 nm, results can be too low by as much as 23%. The product of the reaction, 4-nitrophenol, can be prepared in very pure form and can be used to check both the wavelength and absorbance accuracy of a spectrophotometer. The molar absorptivity for 4-nitrophenol obtained in the instrument being used should be used in calculating alkaline phosphatase activities.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Evaluation of Trinder's glucose oxidase method for measuring glucose in serum and urine.

Trinder's method for glucose has nearly all the attributes of an ideal automated colorimetric glucose oxidase procedure. The chemicals used in the color reaction with peroxidase are readily available, the solutions are stable and can be prepared by the user, the method is highly specific and largely free of interferences, the sensitivity can be adjusted by the user to cover a wide range of glucose concentrations, and the reagents are not hazardous. We found very good agreement between results by this method and by the hexokinase and Beckman Glucose Analyzer methods. The method has been modified and adapted to the AutoAnalyzer I and SMA 6/60 (Technicon) with manifolds that give very little interaction between specimens. A study of the method by the simplex technique revealed that the glucose oxidase activity in the reagent is the most critical variable.

Animals↗

Immunochemical studies on human calcitonin M leading to information on the shape of the molecule.

1. Two antisera were obtained from a single rabbit. Both are highly specific for human calcitonin M but react with different parts of the amino acid sequence. 2. The different sequences that react with the antibodies of the two antisera were located. The first antiserum reacts at two sites in the molecule, one in the sequence residues 11-18, probably with residue 17 as the immunodominant group, and another on either side of the 28-29 peptide bond. The second antiserum, harvested 9 months later, reacts principally at one site bridging the 28-29 peptide bond. 3. A consideration of the properties of the hormone's binding sites and of data relating biological activity to structure enables some conclusions to be drawn with regard to the shape of the molecule. It appears that the peptide chain is folded to bring N- and C-termini closer together and that there is non-covalent interaction between regions in the chain near both termini. One of these is located near residue 8.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Leukocytoclastic vasculitis and malignant hematologic diseases. (12 cases)].

We report 12 cases of leucocytoclastic vasculities associated with myelocytic (7 cases) or lymphocytic (5 cases) blood diseases. The clinical features, laboratory abnormalities and pathological findings are presented. In all cases a drug-induced and/or infective origin could be ruled out, and patients with cryoglobulinaemia were excluded. As in other cases found in the literature, in some patients vasculitis was present several weeks or months before the blood disease was discovered, while in others both conditions developed simultaneously or vasculitis appeared in the course of the blood disease. None of these three possibilities seemed to make the prognosis worse. The pathogenesis of the vasculitis-malignant blood disease association is uncertain. Immune complexes of tumoral origin undoubtedly have some responsibility, but some deficiency of phagocytic cells or chemotactic factors also play a role. Cases such as ours enable the significance of vasculitis to be understood when it occurs in a patient with malignant blood disease, but above all they should prompt investigations for malignant blood disease in patients with cutaneous and/or systemic vasculitis, as is being done in patients with pyoderma gangrenosum or Sweet's syndrome.

Adult↗

Organizing the present, looking to the future: an online knowledge repository to facilitate collaboration.

BACKGROUND: Comprehensive data available in the Canadian province of Manitoba since 1970 have aided study of the interaction between population health, health care utilization, and structural features of the health care system. Given a complex linked database and many ongoing projects, better organization of available epidemiological, institutional, and technical information was needed. OBJECTIVE: The Manitoba Centre for Health Policy and Evaluation wished to develop a knowledge repository to handle data, document research Methods, and facilitate both internal communication and collaboration with other sites. METHODS: This evolving knowledge repository consists of both public and internal (restricted access) pages on the World Wide Web (WWW). Information can be accessed using an indexed logical format or queried to allow entry at user-defined points. The main topics are: Concept Dictionary, Research Definitions, Meta-Index, and Glossary. The Concept Dictionary operationalizes concepts used in health research using administrative data, outlining the creation of complex variables. Research Definitions specify the codes for common surgical procedures, tests, and diagnoses. The Meta-Index organizes concepts and definitions according to the Medical Sub-Heading (MeSH) system developed by the National Library of Medicine. The Glossary facilitates navigation through the research terms and abbreviations in the knowledge repository. An Education Resources heading presents a web-based graduate course using substantial amounts of material in the Concept Dictionary, a lecture in the Epidemiology Supercourse, and material for Manitoba's Regional Health Authorities. Confidential information (including Data Dictionaries) is available on the Centre's internal website. RESULTS: Use of the public pages has increased dramatically since January 1998, with almost 6,000 page hits from 250 different hosts in May 1999. More recently, the number of page hits has averaged around 4,000 per month, while the number of unique hosts has climbed to around 400. CONCLUSIONS: This knowledge repository promotes standardization and increases efficiency by placing concepts and associated programming in the Centre's collective memory. Collaboration and project management are facilitated.

Databases as Topic↗