Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M J Hall

Publications and source records attributed to M J Hall.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Cyclohexane triones, novel membrane-active antibacterial agents.

The cyclohexane triones are a novel group of synthetic antibacterial agents that are active against gram-positive bacteria, Haemophilus influenzae, and Mycobacterium smegmatis. In general, these compounds behaved in a manner similar to that of hexachlorophene, inhibiting the transport of low-molecular-weight hydrophilic substances into bacteria. Unlike cationic detergents, such as chlorhexidine, they did not cause disruption of the bacterial cytoplasmic membrane over a short time period. The most potent antibacterial cyclohexane trione studied had a reduced ability to inhibit solute transport in comparison with certain less active analogs. Cyclohexane triones may express more than a single type of antibacterial effect.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1988

Is embryonic mortality increased in normal female rats mated to subfertile males?

Normal female rats were mated to control males or males which were subjected to unilateral testicular heating (43 degrees C for 30 min), irradiation (500 R), efferent duct ligation, arterial ligation or castration; in all males, the contralateral ductus deferens was ligated. All treatments caused reduced fertility and eventually infertility, as judged by the percentage of females becoming pregnant; the infertility was temporary after heating and irradiation. During the periods of reduced fertility, the numbers of fetuses per pregnant female and the fetus/corpus luteum ratios were reduced. In subsequent experiments, after heating of the testis, there was not only failure of fertilization despite the presence of normal numbers of spermatozoa in the uterus, but also an increased rate of embryonic degeneration in normal females. These results provide evidence that the male, while still fertile, can affect the fecundity of the female and the rate of embryo mortality.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Trends in Medicare use of post-hospital care.

The introduction of Medicare's hospital prospective payment system has raised concerns about availability of and access to needed health care services after beneficiaries are discharged from the hospital. In this article, Medicare coverage of skilled nursing facility, home health agency, and inpatient hospital rehabilitation services is discussed and recent trends in the use of these services are explored. In addition, an overview is provided of two major studies currently sponsored by the Federal Government to examine availability and other issues related to post-hospital care.

Aftercare↗
PubMed1987

Development of a system for sterilizing tsetse flies, Glossina spp., in the field.

Various autosterilizing systems were evaluated on natural populations of Glossina pallidipes Austen and G.morsitans morsitans Westwood in Zimbabwe. These involved a clear plastic tower of two or three chambers mounted at the cage position on a trap. Inside one chamber flies could be exposed to the vapour phase of the chemosterilant bisazir, P,P-bis (1-aziridinyl)-N-methylphosphinothioic amide. The system was designed to encourage flies to enter the sterilizing chamber, delaying their exit for sufficient time to expose them to a sterilizing dose. This was accomplished in the most effective system by restriction of the exit to one small hole (6 mm diameter) at the roof-side junction. The number of flies remaining in the chamber declined exponentially. The rate of exit was directly proportional to the density of flies in the sterilizing chamber and to the number of exit holes. The probability of a fly being in this chamber for at least 1 or 7 min (the times taken for female and male G.m.morsitans respectively to receive an ED50) was 0.84 and 0.67 respectively with one fly present. With sixteen flies, these probabilities were 0.76 and 0.18 respectively. Results suggest that it may be possible to develop a cheap, safe and efficient autosterilizer for use on tsetse traps.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Pancytopenia and folate deficiency in alcoholics.

Three alcoholic patients are reported who presented with pancytopenia and macrocytosis due to acute folate deficiency. While folate deficiency is a common finding in alcohol abusers due to abnormalities in diet, intestinal absorption, internal metabolism and excretion, this life-threatening complication has not been well documented.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Medicaid recipients in intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded.

In this study, we examined Medicaid utilization and expenditure patterns of Medicaid recipients in intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded (ICF's/MR) in three States: California, Georgia, and Michigan. Data were obtained from uniform Medicaid data files (Tape-to-Tape project). Most recipients in ICF's/MR were nonelderly adults with severe or profound mental retardation who were in an ICF/MR for the entire year. The average annual cost of care ranged from $26,617 per recipient in Georgia to $36,128 per recipient in Michigan. The vast majority of recipients were low utilizers of other Medicaid services. Approximately one-third of the recipients were also covered by Medicare.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

1H-NMR assignment and secondary structure of a herpes simplex virus glycoprotein D-1 antigenic domain.

The peptide alpha Ahx-Met-Ala-Asp-Pro-Asn-Arg-Phe-Arg-Gly-Lys-Asp-Leu-Pro-Val-Leu- Asp-Gln-Leu-Thr-Asp-Pro-Pro-alpha Ahx (epsilon Ahx = 6-aminohexanoyl), the antigenic sequence 11-32 from Herpes simplex virus glycoprotein D-1, has been synthesised. Its 1H-NMR spectrum has been assigned by a combination of two-dimensional techniques in H2O and 2H2O. Its secondary structure has been defined by nuclear Overhauser effects and amide proton exchange rates, and also to some extent chemical shifts, coupling constants and amide proton temperature coefficients. These latter parameters are shown to be less reliable as guides to secondary structure. The peptide has a helical (type I/III) turn at residues Pro-14-Asn-15 and helical structure at residues Lys-20-Val-24, in rapid equilibrium with random-coil structure. A beta-turn at residues Arg-18-Gly-19 may be present as a minor component. These locations of secondary structure correspond with previously determined regions of antigenic activity.

Amides↗
PubMed1986

Cassava toxicity.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Foodborne Diseases↗
PubMed1986

The quest for a herpes simplex virus vaccine: background and recent developments.

Herpes simplex virus infections in humans range from localized skin infections of the oral, ocular and genital regions, to severe and often fatal disseminated infections of immunocompromised hosts. Following primary infection, the virus often becomes established in a latent form in the neurons of sensory ganglia and can reactivate to excrete virus asymptomatically or produce recrudescent lesions. This review describes some of the mechanisms involved in the immune response against HSV infections and examines the different strategies adopted to develop a vaccine against this seemingly intractable disease.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

9-alkyl anthracyclines. Absence of cross-resistance to adriamycin in human and murine cell cultures.

Four cell lines of human (CCRF CEM and U266BL) or murine (L1210 and P388D1) origin, resistant to the anthracycline antibiotic Adriamycin (doxorubicin) were selected in vitro from cultured cells by serial passage in the presence of Adriamycin. The resistant sublines were also cross-resistant to Mitoxantrone, 4'-epi Adriamycin and a number of novel anthracyclines including 4'-deoxy and 4'-methoxy analogues. However, a series of 9-alkyl substituted 4-demethoxyanthracyclines retained full activity against all the resistant sublines as did Aclacinomycin A. These results suggest that 9-alkyl substitution of 4-demethoxy-anthracyclines is an important determinant of activity against Adriamycin-resistant cell lines in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Anti-herpes virus combinations in relation to drug resistance.

Two broad categories of combinations have been subject to experimental investigation against HSV-1 and HSV-2; those consisting of an active antiviral drug and an inhibitor of its catabolism and those which contain two active antiviral agents. The latter seek to exploit biochemical mechanisms likely to lead to a synergistic or complementary interaction. Examples of both types of combination for the suppression of resistance development and for the treatment of infection caused by resistant strains are discussed. Their possible relevance to the latent state is considered.

Acyclovir↗
PubMed1986

Antiviral activity of 5'-PAA and 5'-PFA phosphate esters of 2'-deoxyuridines.

The 5'-PAA and 5'-PFA phosphate esters of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BUdR) were synthesized and their antiherpes virus activity was evaluated in vitro. Both compounds showed activity of the same order as the parent nucleoside, BUdR, against HSV-2 but were 4 to 12 times less potent against HSV-1. The 5'-PAA phosphate ester of BUdR (Ro 21-9875) was also active against varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). The 5'-PAA phosphate ester of 5-bromovinyl-2'-deoxyuridine (BVdU) was also synthesized and showed good antiviral activity against HSV-1 only (ID50 = 1.3 mg/l). Further evaluation against selected mutants (TK- or PAAr) indicated a requirement for the expression of the virus-coded thymidine kinase (TK) for the antiviral activity of Ro 21-9875. Kinetic studies revealed non-competitive mixed inhibition of the viral enzyme by this compound. This suggests that it may have some intrinsic TK mediated activity though breakdown to its component parts is undoubtedly a significant contributing factor.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Secondary structure of a herpes simplex virus glycoprotein D antigenic domain.

The peptide 6-amino caproyl-Pro-Ser-Leu-Lys-Met-Ala-Asp-Pro-Asn-Arg-Phe-Arg-Gly-Lys-Asp-Leu- Pro-6- amino caproate has been synthesized and its secondary structure has been investigated by 1H n.m.r. at 400 MHz. Resonances were assigned from 2D NOESY and COSY spectra, and the secondary structure was determined using NOEs, three-bond coupling constants, and exchange rates of amide protons. The peptide has two tight turns centered on the Pro-Asn and Arg-Gly pairs. The relationship between the secondary structure found here and the antigenic nature of the peptide is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

Gastrocnemius myositis in a patient with inflammatory bowel disease.

A young woman with long-standing inflammatory bowel disease presented with a tender left gastrocnemius myositis in association with an exacerbation of her disease. Muscle biopsy showed a chronic inflammatory cell infiltrate and atrophic muscle fibres, but no granulomata or vasculitis, and her symptoms responded to high-dose steroids. Twelve months later she underwent subtotal colectomy for troublesome symptoms and incidentally was discovered to have an adenocarcinoma of the sigmoid colon. Myositis without granulomata has not been reported previously in either Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1985

The in vitro antibacterial activity of ceftriaxone in comparison with nine other antibiotics.

The results of a large three centre co-ordinated study into the in vitro susceptibility of bacterial clinical pathogens showed no significant evidence of regional variation within the U.K. towards the 10 antibiotics examined. The newer cephalosporins were highly potent and superior to other antibiotics against the Enterobacteriaceae, with ceftriaxone and cefotaxime the most potent. Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, gentamicin was the most active, followed by ceftazidime, piperacillin and ceftriaxone; cefotetan was the least active. Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus albus were most susceptible to cefuroxime and gentamicin, though most were also susceptible to ceftriaxone, cefotaxime and cefoxitin. Streptococcus (Groups A and B), Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria spp. were susceptible to most agents other than gentamicin, but ceftriaxone and cefotaxime were overall the most potent. Ceftriaxone was the most active agent against Haemophilus influenzae. The newer agents were variable and relatively poor against anaerobes and only amoxycillin and piperacillin were significantly active against Streptococcus faecalis. The overall resistance level to the third generation cephalosporins was low.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗