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Biomedical subjects

M Lowry

Publications and source records attributed to M Lowry.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1981

Early maternal-child contact: effects on later behaviour.

Fifty normal, healthy, full-term infants were allowed 45 minutes contact with their mothers immediately after birth at Victoria Jubilee Hospital, Kingston, Jamaica. The behaviour of these infants and their mothers was compared with matched controls at six and 12 weeks in a hospital follow-up interview. More early-contact mothers solely breast-fed their infants than did control mothers. Early-contact infants were less likely than controls to be restless or crying during the interviews. At 12 weeks, early-contact mothers were more likely than control mothers to rise and follow when their babies were taken from them, gazed more frequently at their infants, and were more likely to vocalise to their infants during the interview. These differences indicate that early contact promotes a closer relationship between a woman and her infant. Given the importance of breast-feeding as protection against gastro-enteritis and malnutrition, this closer relationship may be especially valuable in developing countries where such diseases are common.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Activation of oxoglutarate dehydrogenase in the kidney in response to acute acidosis.

1. Activation by H+ and by Ca2+ of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase extracted from mitochondria of normal or acidotic rat kidney is described. This effect, first shown for the enzyme from heart by McCormack & Denton [Biochem. J. (1979) 180, 533--544], is of a regulatory importance in kidney, in which organ, in contrast with heart, increased flux occurs during acute acidosis. 2. In renal-cortical tubules, 2-oxoglutarate concentration fell within 1 min of decreasing the pH and rose again 1--3 min after increasing the pH of the medium. The extent of the decrease in 2-oxoglutarate was directly related to the decrease in pH. A similar fall in the oxoglutarate concentration in the whole perfused kidney was noted within 5 min of inducing acidosis. 3. In tubules, the rates of gluconeogenesis and ammoniagenesis from 1 mM-glutamine were increased by 64 and 33% respectively on decreasing pH to 7.0, the increase in rates being proportional to the fall in pH between 7.4 and 7.0. 4. The increased rates of renal ammoniagenesis and gluconeogenesis seen in acute acidosis in vitro can be accounted for by the increased activity of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase and the tissue concentrations of 2-oxoglutarate when calculated from the Km determined at normal and acidotic pH. 5. The decrease in 2-oxoglutarate concentration seen in acute acidosis implies a fall in intramitochondrial pH in kidney, and is the result of two phenomena, accelerated disposal via 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase and maintenance of near equilibrium of glutamate dehydrogenase.

Acidosis, Renal Tubular↗
PubMed1980

Diagnostic instability and depression.

Blind raters applied research criteria to the charts of patients whose discharge diagnosis changed through several hospital admissions from depression to schizophrenia and to the charts of matched control patients. Fewer diagnostically unstable patients than control patients satisfied research criteria for depression despite matching discharge diagnoses. The use of operational criteria, then, can be expected to reduce diagnostic instability in depression and thus improve prognostic accuracy. Some patients satisfied the research criteria for depression when they were initially admitted and for schizophrenia at their final admission. This suggests that diagnostic error may not account for all cases of major diagnostic instability.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Familial subtypes of depression: a clinical view.

The clinical workup of 238 unipolar depressives were subdivided according to immediate family history. Pure depressives (with only depression in the family) typically have an illness involving more endogenous features and chronicity. Depression spectrum patients (with only alcoholism or sociopathy in first-degree relatives) have the mildest illness. Sporadic depression (with a negative family history) is associated with an intermediate severity. Premorbid unstable personality characteristics are more common to the spectrum patients. Sporadic patients have the least personality difficulties. While these differences are definite, they are not large enough to justify separation of unipolar depression into subsyndromes dependent on symptom differences. Rather, family history seems to exert its effect most strongly on the distinctive premorbid personality characteristics of the 3 groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Beta-cell recognition of stereoisomers of D-glucose.

The ability of all eight D-aldohexose steroisomers to stimulate insulin release and biosynthesis was compared with their ability to serve as a metabolic substrate for isolated islets of Langerhans as judged by formation of lactate. Insulin release and synthesis were stimulated by glucose or mannose but not by allose, altrose, gulose, idose, galactose or talose. No potentiary effects of allose, altrose, gulose, idose, or talose were found on insulin release in the presence of 4 mmol/l glucose nor did these sugars inhibit insulin release in the presence of 20 mmol/l glucose. Lactate formation was increased above values found in the absence of added substrate by 20 mmol/l D-glucose or mannose, but not by allose, altrose, gulose, galactose or talose. The results support the substrate-site hypothesis for the recognition of sugars as stimuli of insulin release and synthesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and neonatal jaundice in Jamaica.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency was detected in 16 (69.6%) of a group of 23 neonates who had unexplained moderate or severe jaundice. This proportion is significantly more than the 9.4% observed or the 22.2% expected in Jamaican neonates who are not moderately or severely jaundiced (P less than 0.003), and significantly more than the 12.6% observed or the 21.0% expected in older Jamaican children and adults (P less than 0.003). Phenobarbitone therapy and phototherapy reduced the need for exchange transfusion but this was necessary in eight patients. Two babies developed kernicterus and one died. On the other hand, only two of 21 neonates who were identified as G6PD deficient at birth subsequently became moderately or severely jaundiced, and this could be attributed to other causes in both cases. These findings indicate that apparently spontaneous neonatal jaundice is important in infants who have the G6PD A--enzyme. However, the jaundice is probably precipitated by unknown factors to which the G6PD deficient neonate is more susceptible than the infant who is not G6PD deficient. THere is also a slightly increased incidence of G6PD deficiency in neonates who develop jaundice because of ABO or Rh(D) iso-immune disease, infection or prematurity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

The effect of sugars on (pro)insulin biosynthesis.

Rates of incorporation of [4,5-(3)H]leucine into insulin plus proinsulin, designated ;(pro)insulin', and total protein in rat pancreatic islets were measured. Glucose stimulates rates of total protein and (pro)insulin biosynthesis, but (pro)insulin biosynthesis is stimulated preferentially. Mannose and N-acetylglucosamine also stimulate (pro)insulin and total protein biosynthesis; inosine and dihydroxyacetone stimulate (pro)insulin biosynthesis specifically. Fructose does not stimulate (pro)insulin biosynthesis when tested alone, but does so in the presence of low concentrations of glucose, mannose or N-acetylglucosamine. Many glucose analogues do not stimulate (pro)insulin biosynthesis. Mannoheptulose inhibits synthesis of (pro)insulin and total protein stimulated by glucose or mannose but not by dihydroxyacetone, inosine or N-acetylglucosamine; phloretin (9mum) inhibits N-acetylglucosamine-stimulated (pro)insulin biosynthesis preferentially. The data are in agreement with the view that the same glucose-sensor mechanism may control both insulin release and biosynthesis, and ;substrate-site' model is suggested. The threshold for stimulation of biosynthesis of (pro)insulin and total protein is lower than that found for glucose-stimulated insulin release; moreover the biosynthetic response to an elevation of glucose concentration is slower than that found for insulin release. The physiological implication of these findings is discussed. Caffeine and isobutylmethylxanthine, at concentrations known to increase islet 3':5'-cyclic AMP and potentiate glucose-induced insulin release, were without effect on rates of glucose-stimulated (pro)insulin biosynthesis.

Adenosine↗
PubMed1978

Is a familial definition of depression both feasible and valid?

On the basis of familial constellations it is possible to separate out most of the unipolar depressive patients that are seen in the hospital. The groups may be called depression spectrum disease, pure depressive disease, and sporadic depressive disease. The sporadic depressive disease group is older at onset and older at index of admission than the other two groups. The depression spectrum disease and pure depressive disease groups are separated by virtue of the fact that there are more episodes of illness in the latter.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Baseline characteristics of pure depressive disease.

A chart review study of 86 females with pure depressive disorder (i.e., a diagnosis of depression plus a parental history of depression) is reported. Findings regarding family history of depressive illness are described. Clinically, the group is noted to be most homogeneous, various attempts at subdivision failing.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1977

Depression spectrum disease versus pure depressive disease. Clinical, personality, and course differences.

In a group of 191 women admitted to the University of Iowa Psychiatric Hospital for depression over a 45-year period and selected on the basis of alcoholism or antisocial personality, vs. depression, in a parent, 105 probands fit into the depression spectrum group (parental alcoholism or antisocial personality) and 86 into the pure depression group (parental depression). Few differences were found between the presenting clinical pictures (including precipitating factors) of the two groups; but depression spectrum patients and pure depressive patients showed study differences in the areas of personal problems and personality as well as course of illness. The depression spectrum patients were significantly less likely to have loss of interest in usual activities as a symptom at index admission. They were significantly more likely to have had a history of sexual problems, to have been divorced or separated before, to have been described as irritable, and to report having previously been depressed. They are nonetheless significantly more likely to recover completely and have no relapse of depression. The pure depression group were significantly more likely to have depressed sisters, and suicide was much more frequent in their ill parents. Thus, important personality and course differences separate depressive spectrum disease from pure depressive disease;

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Visibility of phospholipids in 31P NMR spectra of human breast tumours in vivo.

The aims of this study were two-fold: to characterize the in vivo 31P NMR spectrum of human breast tumours by identifying the metabolites contributing to each peak; and to demonstrate changes in the detectability of the phosphodiester (PDE) peak at varying field strengths. This was achieved by obtaining 31P spectra from 23 patients in vivo at 1.5 T and also of 11 perchloric acid (PCA) extracts and 3 chloroform-methanol (CM) extracts of tumour biopsy samples at 9.4 T. In spectra acquired in vivo the percentage areas for each peak were: phosphomenoester (PME), 15%; Pi, 11%; PDE 35%; phosphocreatine, 5%; gamma-NTP, 11%; alpha-NTP, 11% and beta-NTP, 12% of the total spectral area. PCA extracts showed the PME peak to be greater than 70% phosphorylethanolamine whilst the PDE peak included almost equal proportions of glycerophosphorylethanolamine and glycerophosphorylcholine. CM extracts of tumours revealed additional metabolites in the PDE region suggesting that the large PDE peak observed in vivo could arise mainly from phospholipids. Spectra of human breast tumour xenografts examined in vivo at both 1.9 T and 9.4 T confirmed that the presence of a large PDE peak in vivo was a function of field strength. Further experiments with microsomal membranes from rat mammary tumours at 1.5 and 9.4 T demonstrated that phospholipids are more clearly visible at the lower field strength due to a substantial decrease in linewidth.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical supervision for the development of nursing practice.

Nursing practice demands a range of problem-solving skills and abilities, and preregistration courses may only provide limited preparation. Clinicians need to draw on the skills and expertise of experienced colleagues in order most effectively to use their time and energies in a new role or clinical area. Experienced staff may enhance both their clinical expertise and their support of colleagues through the role of clinical supervisor. Clinical supervision has benefits for the supervisor in terms of professional development and for the supervisee as regards identifying and addressing clinical problems. According to the position statement on clinical supervision for nurses and health visitors published by the UKCC (UKCC, 1996) clinical supervision aims to identify solutions to problems, improve practice and increase understanding of professional issues. This article examines roles and responsibilities in clinical supervision and discusses the benefits for individuals and for health services.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Practice development units: the next step?

Nursing has developed considerably in recent years in a multidisciplinary context, acknowledged in the setting up of nursing and practice development units. The aim of this article is to demonstrate to readers how the effective implementation of decentralised management theory and clinical leadership can facilitate practice development and how interdisciplinary collaboration is an integral feature of this.

Education, Nursing, Continuing↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Planning and writing academic essays.

To write academic essays to a high standard takes time, practice and skill, but the process can be facilitated by appropriate guidance. This article examines the requirements for planning and writing academic essays. It considers the reasons for writing them, and explains how best to plan and prepare the work for presentation. Some guidelines as to how essays may be assessed by tutors are also provided.

Education, Nursing↗