Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M E Wilson

Publications and source records attributed to M E Wilson.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Firearm injury prevention counseling: a study of pediatricians' beliefs and practices.

Members of the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics completed a mail survey on their beliefs and counseling practices related to firearm injury prevention. Respondents were skeptical of the protective value of firearms in the home and most were supportive of gun control measures. Only a fifth believed that most families with handguns keep them inaccessible to children; however, many seemed to believe that the children at risk were in practices other than their own. Among those providing direct ambulatory care, 40% had had a patient who had been shot. Seventy-four percent believed pediatricians have a responsibility to counsel families about firearms. Only 13% believed parents would be offended if guns were included in anticipatory guidance discussions. Even so, only 30% had ever provided such counseling. Just half of the respondents agreed that they knew what to tell families about firearms. Ninety percent were very likely to counsel parents to store guns unloaded and locked up, whereas 54% were very likely to advise parents to remove guns from the home. More than two thirds believed parents would heed their advice about storing firearms, and 30% believed parents would follow advice about having guns. Results suggest pediatricians are ready to counsel about firearm injury prevention, but are not yet doing so.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Parents' beliefs about preventing gun injuries to children.

Data were collected from parents bringing children to selected pediatric practices in Maryland using questionnaires and focus group discussions. Gun ownership ranged from 27% in the suburban practice to 53% in the rural practice. Unrealistic perceptions of children's capabilities and behavioral tendencies with regard to guns were common among gun owners. Half of all gun-owning parents believed that active strategies (eg, education, supervision) were the best method of preventing gun injuries to children older than 12 years of age. Nearly all gun owners indicated a willingness to follow their pediatrician's advice about gun storage, but only 19% of the mothers and 10% of the fathers said they would follow advice to remove guns from the home. Among parents who did not have a gun in the home, 40% said they would consider obtaining one if they felt threatened; however, 73% of these parents indicated they would be dissuaded from doing so by a pediatrician's advice about the risks of keeping guns in the home. Results suggested that pediatricians will be most effective if they recommend passive strategies (eg, removing guns from the home or storing guns unloaded and locked) on the basis of children's developmental capabilities and behavioral tendencies and make their recommendations part of general counseling about child safety.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Role of peptide backbone conformation on biological activity of chemotactic peptides.

To investigate the role of peptide backbone conformation on the biological activity of chemotactic peptides, we synthesized a unique analog of N-formyl-Met-Leu-Phe-OH incorporating the C alpha,alpha disubstituted residue, dipropylglycine (Dpg) in place of Leu. The conformation of the stereochemically constrained Dpg analog was examined in the crystalline state by x-ray diffraction and in solution using NMR, IR, and CD methods. The secretagogue activity of the peptide on human neutrophils was determined and compared with that of a stereochemically constrained, folded type II beta-turn analog incorporating 1-aminocyclohexanecarboxylic acid (Ac6c) at position 2 (f-Met-Ac6c-Phe-OMe), the parent peptide (f-Met-Leu-Phe-OH) and its methyl ester derivative (f-Met-Leu-Phe-OMe). In the solid state, the Dpg analog adopts an extended beta-sheet-like structure with an intramolecular hydrogen bond between the NH and CO groups of the Dpg residue, thereby forming a fully extended (C5) conformation at position 2. The phi and psi values for Met and Phe residues are significantly lower than the values expected for an ideal antiparallel beta conformation causing a twist in the extended backbone both at the N and C termini. Nuclear magnetic resonance studies suggest the presence of a significant population of the peptide molecules in an extended antiparallel beta conformation and the involvement of Dpg NH in a C5 intramolecular hydrogen bond in solutions of deuterated chloroform and deuterated dimethyl sulfoxide. IR studies provide evidence for the presence of an intramolecular hydrogen bond in the molecule and the antiparallel extended conformation in chloroform solution. CD spectra in methanol, trifluoroethanol, and trimethyl phosphate indicate that the Dpg peptide shows slight conformational flexibility, whereas the folded Ac6c analog is quite rigid. The extended Dpg peptide consistently shows the highest activity in human peripheral blood neutrophils, being approximately 8 and 16 times more active than the parent peptide and the folded Ac6c analog, respectively. However, the finding that all four peptides have ED50 (the molar concentration of peptide to induce half-maximal enzyme release) values in the 10(-8)-10(-9) M range suggests that an induced fit mechanism may indeed be important in this ligand-receptor interaction. Moreover, it is also possible that alterations in the backbone conformation at the tripeptide level may not significantly alter the side chain topography and/or the accessibility of key functional groups important for interaction with the receptor.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Infections in HIV-infected travelers: risks and prevention.

OBJECTIVE: To review risks for infection and to outline strategies to protect the health of travelers infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). DATA SOURCES: Original reports and summaries of the geographic distribution and frequency of infections as well as of special risks these infections impose on HIV-infected persons. The recommendations incorporate guidelines published by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization. STUDY SELECTION: Sources containing the most recent, pertinent information. DATA SYNTHESIS: Infections of the gastrointestinal tract are common in all travelers to developing countries and are likely to be more frequent, severe, and difficult to treat in HIV-infected persons. Prominent among the respiratory tract infections that pose special risks to HIV-infected travelers are influenza, measles, and fungal infections with geographically focal distributions. The most common vector-borne infection, malaria, appears to present relatively little, if any, incremental risk to the HIV-infected traveler. Persons with HIV infection respond less vigorously to vaccines and have a higher frequency of adverse reactions to antimicrobial agents. Nevertheless, immunizations and chemoprophylaxis can reduce the risk for many travel-related infections. Additionally, there are protective measures that travelers can take to minimize exposure to pathogens. CONCLUSIONS: By understanding the risks for disease in different destinations, assessing patients' HIV status, counseling patients about travel plans and personal protective measures, appropriately using vaccines and chemoprophylaxis, as well as instituting early treatment of infection, physicians can help HIV-infected patients to preserve their health during travel.

Gastrointestinal Diseases↗
PubMed1991

Formation of a new social group of unfamiliar female rhesus monkeys affects the immune and pituitary adrenocortical systems.

Social stress associated with the formation of a new group of rhesus monkeys resulted in increased basal cortisol secretion and significant decreases in immunological parameters. Eight adult female rhesus monkeys, all of which had been raised in social groups, but with no common social history, were simultaneously introduced into an outdoor enclosure along with an adult male. Behavioral data were collected during the introduction and over 9 weeks thereafter. Blood samples were collected prior to and at intervals for 9 weeks following formation. The establishment of a dominance hierarchy, apparent within 48 h, was accomplished with no serious fighting and a complete absence of wounding or trauma. Overall, the group showed a significant increase in cortisol and a significant decrease in the absolute number of total lymphocytes and CD4+ and CD8+ T cells at 24 h postformation, but not thereafter. However, when partitioned into high and low dominance rank, differences in CD4+ and CD8+ T cells were evident for up to 9 weeks with low ranking subjects showing significantly lower values. The housing condition of the subjects immediately prior to introduction, either indoors in individual caging or outdoors in social groups, may have influenced behavior, rank acquisition, and possibly differences in immune parameters. These data demonstrate that social group formation is a potent psychosocial stressor in primates, since stress-sensitive changes were observed in the absence of serious aggression and wounding.

Aggression↗
PubMed1991

Are you getting the message? A look at the communication between the Department of Health, manufacturers and anaesthetists.

A questionnaire sent to 109 anaesthetists in the South West Region has revealed that there is a problem with dissemination of information relating to hazards with equipment. Thirty-four per cent of consultants, and 67% of junior anaesthetists were only slightly or not at all confident that they see the Hazard Notices and Safety Action Bulletins relating to the equipment they use. The study has also demonstrated the large amount of new equipment coming into circulation and has highlighted deficiencies in the reading of equipment manuals. Some suggestions are made as to how the current system may be improved.

Anesthesiology↗
PubMed1991

Assessing intravenous cannulation and tracheal intubation training.

A simple graphical method is described that allows the assessment of a student's progress while learning intravenous cannulation and tracheal intubation. Thirty-four students were studied during their initial training; 91% of those students who obtained a sufficient number of trials to allow a final assessment to be made met the criterion of 80% success for cannulation and 95% achieved similar success in intubation. Thirty-one ambulance staff who returned for a 3-day refresher course were also assessed; 44% (for intravenous cannulation) and 61% (for tracheal intubation) met the 80% success criterion.

Anesthesia Department, Hospital↗
PubMed1991

Family dynamics and infant temperament in urban Iceland.

Pregnancy is a time of transition and crisis when many families are challenged with the addition of an infant. Studies of this challenge are unknown for Icelandic families. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of pregnancy and the young infant on family dynamics and the relationship between family dynamics and the infant's developing temperament. Fifty families completed the Family Dynamics Measure during the third trimester of pregnancy and when the infant was eight months old. Mothers also completed the Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire. Mothers perceived a decrease in role reciprocity across this transition. More stable organized families had more rhythmic infants. There was no association between family structure and either family dynamics or infant temperament. After the birth of the child, fathers perceived more role reciprocity while mothers perceived more individuation and mutuality. Mothers of second infants reported greater individuation than mothers with first infants.

Family↗
PubMed1991

Evidence that the serotype b antigenic determinant of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Y4 resides in the polysaccharide moiety of lipopolysaccharide.

A high-molecular-weight polysaccharide-containing antigen was isolated from a phenol-water extract of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans ATCC 43718 (formerly Y4) by gel permeation chromatography in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-disaggregating buffer. The polysaccharide antigen formed a precipitin band with rabbit serotype b-specific antiserum but not with rabbit antisera to serotype a or c. Electroblotted serotype b antigen was probed with serum from a patient with localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP), resulting in a diffuse "smear" in the upper region of the lane. By utilizing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, it was demonstrated that the geometric mean immunoglobulin G antibody titer to the serotype b polysaccharide was significantly higher in sera from LJP patients than in sera from periodontally healthy individuals. Moreover, LJP antibody titers to the serotype b polysaccharide exhibited age-dependent variation. Double immunodiffusion analysis revealed that the serotype b antigen formed a line of identity with low-molecular-weight LPS following reaction with serotype b-specific antiserum. Incubation of LJP serum in the presence of a lipid-free polysaccharide moiety obtained by mild acid hydrolysis of LPS from A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 markedly reduced immunoglobulin G titer to the serotype b antigen. In contrast, solubilized lipid A was only weakly inhibitory. The results of this study indicate that the serotype b-specific determinant of A. actinomycetemcomitans resides in the polysaccharide moiety of LPS and represents a major target for immunoglobulin G antibody in serum of LJP subjects colonized by this organism.

Actinobacillus↗
PubMed1991

The heat-modifiable outer membrane protein of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans: relationship to OmpA proteins.

The outer membrane of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans contains a 29-kDa protein which exhibits heat modifiability on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels and represents a major target for immunoglobulin G antibody in sera of periodontitis patients colonized by this organism. In the present study, the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the 29-kDa outer membrane protein was determined and compared with reported sequences for other known proteins. The heat-modifiable outer membrane protein of A. actinomycetemcomitans was found to exhibit significant N-terminal homology with the OmpA proteins of other gram-negative bacteria. Moreover, this protein reacted with antiserum raised against the purified OmpA protein of Escherichia coli K-12. Whether the heat-modifiable OMP of A. actinomycetemcomitans also shares functional properties of OmpA proteins, particularly with respect to bacteriophage receptor activity, is presently under investigation.

Actinobacillus↗
PubMed1991

Hydrogen peroxide-mediated toxicity for Leishmania donovani chagasi promastigotes. Role of hydroxyl radical and protection by heat shock.

Leishmania must survive despite exposure to the toxic oxidant hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) during phagocytosis by macrophages. We investigated the mechanism of H2O2 toxicity for L. donovani chagasi promastigotes, and factors responsible for their relative H2O2 resistance. There was a dose-dependent toxic effect of H2O2 for promastigotes isolated during logarithmic phase of growth. In contrast, stationary phase promastigotes were less susceptible to H2O2 toxicity, and more infectious for BALB/c mice. By spin trapping we found that hydroxyl radical (.OH) was generated after exposure of promastigotes to H2O2, and the amount of .OH was greater with log-phase than with stationary-phase promastigotes. .OH was generated after the addition of H2O2 to the cytosol but not the membranes of fractionated promastigotes, and the magnitude of .OH was greater in log than in stationary promastigote cytosol. Deferoxamine inhibition suggested that intracellular promastigote iron catalyzes .OH formation via the Fenton reaction. Furthermore, exposure of log-phase promastigotes to heat shock induced a relative H2O2-resistant state, which was not associated with a decrease in .OH formation but which required ongoing transcription. Thus, growth to stationary phase and heat shock both induce a state of relative H2O2 resistance, but these are probably due to different resistance mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Effects of growth hormone on neonatal growth in nursing rhesus monkeys.

The effects of recombinant human GH treatment of either nursing mothers or their infants on neonatal growth in rhesus monkeys was determined. Growth rates of infants treated daily from birth with GH (INFGH; n = 9; 100 micrograms/kg, sc) were compared to those of infants given saline (INFc; n = 10), infants whose mothers received saline from the second trimester of pregnancy through 7 weeks postpartum (CON; n = 9), infants of mothers who received GH during pregnancy only from the second trimester to parturition (PRG; n = 8), infants of mothers who received GH during lactation only from parturition through 7 weeks postpartum (LAC; n = 9), and infants of mothers who received GH during the second trimester of pregnancy through 7 weeks postpartum (PRG/LAC; n = 8). Mothers receiving GH were given 250 micrograms/kg, sc, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Infants were allowed to nurse ad libitum. Although infant birth weights were similar among the six groups, body weights at 7 weeks of age were significantly greater in PRG/LAC infants (0.77 +/- 0.03 kg) compared to those in CON (0.66 +/- 0.02 kg), INFc (0.62 +/- 0.03 kg), LAC (0.62 +/- 0.04 kg), and INFGH infants (0.62 +/- 0.01 kg), with infants of PRG mothers intermediate (0.71 +/- 0.02 kg) between them. By 35 weeks of age, after infants had been weaned by their mothers, body weights were similar among all groups. Serum concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) rose significantly in all infants during the study period. Although IGF-I levels did not vary significantly among the treatment groups, average concentrations of IGF-I were significantly related to weight gains. Analyses of milk composition revealed that total protein, lactose, and IGF-I levels were similar among groups, whereas the percentage of fat in the milk was significantly higher in PRG/LAC mothers. Milk protein content was significantly related to weight gain. These data suggest that neonatal body weight gain can be accelerated in nursing infants whose mothers have received GH from at least the second trimester of pregnancy through the lactational interval. Since infants of mothers receiving GH during lactation only were not different from controls, the effect of GH in this treatment paradigm may be mammogenic rather than galactopoietic per se.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Long-term effects of recombinant human growth hormone treatment on skeletal maturation and growth in female rhesus monkeys with normal pituitary function.

Female rhesus monkeys (n = 5), having normal pituitary function, were treated for 50 months with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH; 250 micrograms/kg) 3 days/week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and rates of growth were compared with a group of age-matched untreated females (n = 6). Treatment was initiated at 20 months of age, approximately 10 months before the expected age of menarche. Long-term treatment with rhGH accelerated bone maturation and increased the velocity of increase in crown-rump length, tibia length and body weight. The period of acceleration occurred coincident with the occurrence of spontaneous puberty. Body measurements remained larger in the treated females until growth ceased. Long-term rhGH treatment increased final adult crown-rump length by some 3%, with a slight increase in tibia length and body weight, without having any untoward effects on reproductive capacity or health. One treated animal exhibited higher estimates of antibodies to rhGH throughout the study period, and this female also had a smaller increment in crown-rump length than the other treated females. These data suggest that long-term treatment of normal-pituitary females with rhGH augments crown-rump growth without any untoward effects of health.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

IgG antibody response of localized juvenile periodontitis patients to the 29 kilodalton outer membrane protein of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

Levels of serum IgG antibody to the 29 kilodalton outer membrane protein of A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 in sera of periodontally healthy subjects and localized juvenile periodontitis patients were determined using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The 29 kDa protein was isolated by solubilization of an octylglucoside-NaCl insoluble fraction by incubation at ambient temperature in 20 mM sodium phosphate, pH 7.5, containing 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate. The isolated protein migrated on SDS-polyacrylamide gels with an apparent molecular mass of 29 kDa following incubation in sample buffer at ambient temperature. However, the protein migrated with an apparent molecular mass of 34 kDa following incubation in sample buffer at 100 degrees C for 10 minutes. Geometric mean IgG antibody titers to the 29 kDa protein were significantly higher in sera from LJP subjects than in sera obtained from periodontally healthy subjects. Twenty-two of 35 LJP sera (63%) had antibody titers greater than 2 standard deviations from the mean titer of the periodontally healthy group. Among LJP subjects, elevated antibody titers to the 29 kDa protein were found primarily in subjects greater than or equal to 18 years of age, with the highest titers seen in patients 18 to 21 years of age. The results of this study indicate that the humoral response of LJP subjects to A. actinomycetemcomitans includes the production of IgG antibodies which recognize the major outer membrane proteins of this organism.

Actinobacillus↗
PubMed1991

Analysis of a decade of critical care nursing practice research: 1979 to 1988.

The purpose of this study was to analyze critical care nursing practice research published in leading refereed nursing research journals during the period from 1979 to 1988 to identify knowledge-building methods and research outcomes in critical care nursing. Findings indicate a significant increase in the number of nursing practice research studies published as well as a high percentage of intervention-oriented studies. The results of the study reflect the interest that critical care nurses have in identifying a research-based practice.

Clinical Nursing Research↗