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Biomedical subjects

M Gregory

Publications and source records attributed to M Gregory.

65 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Improved surveillance of maternal deaths.

This study explains and verifies an apparent increase in the New Jersey resident maternal mortality rate from 1.7 per 10,000 live births by the state's traditional method to 3.1 per 10,000 live births by a new method of surveillance instituted in late 1974. In 1975, the maternal mortality rate by the traditional method was 1.5 per 10,000 and by the expanded method, 3.0 per 10,000. The traditional method compiled data from death certificates submitted to the State Vital Statistics Office. The expanded method found additional deaths by review of Annual Maternity Services Reports from hospitals and by close follow-up of individual reports of maternal deaths from medical examiners, physicians and hospitals.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Developmental expression of vitamin K-dependent gamma-carboxylase activity in zebrafish embryos: effect of warfarin.

Vitamin K-dependent gamma-carboxylation is an essential posttranslational modification required for the functional activity of coagulation proteins such as factors VII, IX, X, and prothrombin. Warfarin, an inhibitor of vitamin K-dependent gamma-carboxylation, was used in earlier work on adult zebrafish to provide evidence for the presence of vitamin K-dependent carboxylase in zebrafish. Here we demonstrate the presence of vitamin K-dependent carboxylase activity in zebrafish by directly assaying the microsomal fraction prepared from adult, unfertilized eggs, and embryos from different developmental stages. Gamma-carboxylase activity was detected both before and after fertilization of embryos and the activity levels remained relatively constant from 6 h postfertilization (hpf) through other advanced stages of development. The expression of activity in the early embryos (0-6 hpf) may be due to the presence of maternal protein since the activity was detected even in the unfertilized eggs. Gamma-carboxylase activity in the eggs as well as early embryos suggested that vitamin K-dependent carboxylase is important throughout development. The detection of vitamin K-dependent carboxylase mRNA by RT-PCR and inhibitor studies using warfarin confirmed these activity results. Further, these studies provide a basis for selecting warfarin-resistant zebrafish mutants in order to find genes regulating gamma-carboxylase activity including the yet unidentified vitamin K-epoxide reductase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Platelet serotonin uptake in panic disorder.

Platelet serotonin uptake was measured in 45 patients (12 males, 33 females) with panic attacks and 21 controls (9 males, 12 females). Higher Vmax values were obtained in the patient group than in the controls (100.2 +/- 11.5 vs. 34.9 +/- 3.8 pmol/10(8) platelets/min; P less than 0.0005) while the affinity constant Km was not significantly different (2.28 +/- 0.3 vs. 1.71 +/- 0.18 microM). A value of Vmax in excess of 60 pmol/10(8) platelets/min was observed in 60% of patients and in only 5% of controls. The results point to a specific abnormality of platelet serotonin uptake in patients with panic attacks.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Paramedic use of endotracheal tube introducers for the difficult airway.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ability of paramedics to learn and apply the skill of introducer-aided oral intubation in the setting of the simulated "difficult airway." The authors hypothesized that, following a brief introduction to the device, intubation success rates would not differ for traditional and introducer-aided intubations of an immobilized airway mannequin. METHODS: During a paramedic recertification class, experienced paramedics were given a brief didactic introduction to the "bougie-like" Flex Guide endotracheal tube introducer (ETTI). The participants were then asked to intubate adult mannequins immobilized in the head-neutral position, with and without the ETTI. "Successful placement" was defined as completion of the procedure within 30 seconds and endotracheal tube position confirmed by the investigator with direct visualization. RESULTS: For both traditional and ETTI intubations, 34 (97%) of the 35 paramedics successfully intubated within 30 seconds. The two unsuccessful intubation attempts were recognized by the paramedic as esophageal intubations, and correct tube placement was obtained within an additional 30 seconds. CONCLUSION: In this study, use of the ETTI was mastered by the participants after only a brief didactic introduction to the device, with their ability to intubate an immobilized mannequin using the ETTI being equal to their ability to perform traditional intubation. These results suggest that use of the ETTI is easily learned, and may support the device's role in the prehospital management of the difficult airway.

Emergency Medical Technicians↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Antioxidant status of the hypertrophic heart of Dahl hypertensive rat as a model for evaluation of antioxidants.

Development of hypertension, myocardial hypertrophy and the cardiac antioxidant status of male Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) genetically hypertensive rats was evaluated and compared to that of normotensive Dahl salt-resistant (DSR) controls. In order to obtain exaggerated and more severe hypertension, half of the animals (10 per group) were Na loaded (8% NaCl diet) for 6 weeks. The myocardial antioxidant status was estimated in tissue homogenates on the basis of tissue glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). The results showed that 6 weeks of hypertension resulted in left ventricle myocardial hypertrophy, documented by weight, morphometry and morphological changes. The compromised myocardial antioxidant status of the DSS rats was defined by significantly decreased GSH-Px and glutathione activity (13% and 41%, respectively) as compared to DSR rats. SOD in DSS myocardium was increased by 47% compared to that in DSR myocardium, an effect that is considered a compensatory mechanism to the oxidative stress. All of the above changes were exaggerated by NaCl loading. It was concluded that DSS rats, on either a normal or high NaCl diet, displayed decreased antioxidant capacity, which is most likely genetically determined. Before the Dahl rat can be considered as a suitable model for testing new cardiac antioxidants, a full characterization of the level of cardiac oxygen free radicals is required.

Analysis of Variance↗