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Biomedical subjects

M J Nicholson

Publications and source records attributed to M J Nicholson.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

Dietary fat in relation to fatty acid composition of red cells and adipose tissue in colorectal cancer.

Fatty acids were determined in erthrocytes in 49 patients with colorectal cancer and compared with age and sex-matched controls. Marginally increased levels of stearic acid (P = 0.057) and oleic acid (P = 0.064) and decreased arachidonic acid (P = 0.043) occurred in cancer patients. There was no difference in the stearic to oleic acid ratio between the two groups. Dietary intake, assessed by dietary recall and adipose tissue analysis was also not different. In control subjects the polyunsaturated:saturated (P:S) fatty acid ratio correlated between diet and adipose tissue (P less than 0.01, at least). In contrast cancer patients showed different correlations; in particular dietary and erythrocyte P:S fatty acid ratios correlated (P less than 0.01). These findings may indicate disturbed fat metabolism in cancer patients. The erythrocyte stearic to oleic acid ratio is of no diagnostic value.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1987

Repeatability, reproducibility and sequential use of condition scoring of Bos indicus cattle.

There is a scarcity in the literature of statistical analyses of condition score data. This paper assesses the repeatability and reproducibility of a condition scoring system in order to test whether it can be sufficiently reliable for widespread use and statistical treatment. Differences in cow condition resulting from an eight-month dry season, changes in lactational status and watering frequency were used to demonstrate how condition score data can be used sequentially in parallel with weight or heart girth data to monitor changes in body reserves over a prolonged period. The condition scoring system is based on a nine-point scale and its superiority over a six-point scale is demonstrated under the conditions encountered in Africa. An analysis of the trend in condition over time showed that cows watered daily lost condition linearly while cows watered every three days lost condition in a quadratic decline.

Animal Husbandry↗
PubMed1987

Relationships between body weight, condition score and heart girth changes in Boran cattle.

Body weight, heart girth and condition score were monitored in 75 Boran cows over an eight-month period. Condition score was highly correlated with both weight and heart girth when these variables were measured at the end of the dry season. Over the whole period the correlation coefficient between weight and condition score was r = 0.76 and the relationship was linear. When the data were broken down by lactation status the correlation between condition score and weight of lactating cows was lower but was improved by adjusting for differences in cow weight. Heart girth and condition score over the whole period were linearly related as was heart girth and weight. A change of one point in a nine-score system was equivalent to a change of about 24 kg.

Animals↗