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Biomedical subjects

M Morin

Publications and source records attributed to M Morin.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

A five-year experience with second-trimester induced abortions: no increase in complication rate as compared to the first trimester.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare the complication rate of first-trimester suction curettage with that of second-trimester dilation-and-evacuation abortions in the same clinical setting. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective analysis (chart review) of the 3772 induced abortions performed between 1986 and 1990 at the Family Planning Clinic of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. RESULTS: Among the 3355 cases with known follow-up (89%), the complication rate was 5.1% for the 2908 suction curettages at < 15 weeks' gestation compared with 2.9% for the 447 dilation-and-evacuation procedures at 15 to 20 weeks' gestation. Serious complications were few and not increased among patients undergoing dilation and evacuation. CONCLUSION: A careful approach to second-trimester dilation-and-evacuation procedures can make them comparatively as safe as suction curettages, contrary to common belief derived from large surveys done in the late 1970s.

Abortion, Incomplete↗

The design of an adjustable half block for nonasymmetric linear accelerators.

Half-block techniques in radiotherapy may be used to junction two abutting radiation fields. Removable half blocks for linear accelerators not equipped with asymmetrical jaws can accomplish this technique providing the block edge is properly secured with respect to the beam central axis to achieve a smooth beam junction. Successive block edge cuts with a milling machine are, however, required to achieve an acceptable junction of the fields. The design of a half-block device that allows secure adjustment of the block edge on the linac thus alleviating the need for successive milling procedures is presented.

Equipment Design↗

[Serologic diagnosis of avian salmonelloses: adjustment of an ELISA test using antigens adsorbed with the aid of anti-colibacillary sera].

A serological ELISA test for diagnosis of avian salmonellosis infections with Salmonella typhimurium or enteritidis has been established. Plates were coated half with a negative antigen and half with a positive antigen. Both negative and positive antigens were adsorbed with a monovalent agglutinant anti Escherichia coli serum prior to being distributed into wells of the plates. Sera from SPF birds and from SPF birds vaccinated and/or inoculated with numerous viruses or bacteria, or sera from conventional birds bacteriologically free of any salmonellosis were tested and the percentage of false positive reactions was inferior than 1%. In groups of birds naturally infected or experimentally inoculated with Salmonella enteritidis or typhimurium the percentages of positive individuals were ranged from 15 to more than 90% according to the doses and routes of inoculation and the delay between contamination and sampling.

Animals↗

Open cholecystectomy: its morbidity and mortality as a reference standard.

In a retrospective study of 10,471 cholecystectomies, performed between 1971 and 1990, the incidence and causes of death and morbidity of cholecystectomy were analysed. There were 47 postoperative deaths (0.4%); 6 deaths occurred in 5841 patients less than 50 years old, 23 in 3898 patients between 50 and 70 years old and 18 in 732 patients more than 70 years old. Death rates in each group were, respectively, 0.1%, 0.6% and 2.5% (p < 0.001). The death rate in 9339 patients who had cholecystectomy alone was 0.3% and the death rate in 1132 patients who had a concomitant common bile duct exploration (CBDE) was 1.6% (p < 0.001). Cardiovascular complications were the main cause of death, and biliary, pulmonary and wound complications were the most common. There were 614 complications in 529 patients; 176 of these patients were less than 50 years old, 252 were between 50 and 70 years old and 101 were more than 70 years old. Complication rates were, respectively, 3.0%, 6.5% and 13.8% (p < 0.001). For patients with cholecystectomy alone the morbidity was 3.6% and for patients who had a concomitant CBDE the morbidity was 17% (p < 0.001). The mortality and morbidity of cholecystectomy increase significantly with age and a concomitant CBDE. However, patients who underwent cholecystectomy electively or for acute cholecystitis had comparable mortality and morbidity.

Acute Disease↗

[Importance of the role of dose rate on tumor induction in rats after radon inhalation].

Lung cancer can be induced in rats, by radon daughter products, after exposure as low as 25 WLM (80 mJ.h.m-3) protracted over 4 to 6 months with a dose rate of 100 to 150 WL (2 to 3 mJ.m-3). The incidence of lung cancer is not increased and is equal to that of controls when the same cumulated dose is protracted over 18 months at 2 WL (0.042 mJ.m-3).

Administration, Inhalation↗

Validity and limitations of animal experiments in assessing lung carcinogenicity of cadmium.

Several cadmium compounds have been observed to induce in rats, but in rats only, a dose-dependent increase in lung cancer. A similar sensitivity to lung cancer induction in both humans and rats can be deduced from a comparison of the histogenesis of tumours and the dose response to radiation, since similar numbers of DNA lesions are produced. Since the carcinogenic action of cadmium is limited to the site of deposition, the toxicokinetics of inhaled particles in human and rodents are discussed in relation to the exposure of the respective target cells in both species. It is stressed that the rat may be much more sensitive to the induction of cancer following the retention of poorly soluble compounds. A comparison of the possible dose-effect response in humans and the dose response in rats showed that the shape of the "dose" response cannot be extrapolated. Finally, clonogenicity and DNA repair of tracheal cells sublethally exposed in vitro to cadmium differ significantly in rats and hamsters. This may explain why hamsters exposed in vivo do not develop tumours.

Animals↗

Experimental infection of newborn pigs with an attaching and effacing Escherichia coli O45:K"E65" strain.

The ability of a nonenterotoxigenic, K88-negative porcine Escherichia coli strain of serogroup O45:K"E65" to induce attaching-effacing lesions was investigated in newborn pigs. Typical attaching-effacing lesions, characterized by intimate adherence of bacteria to mature enterocyte brush borders with effacement of the microvilli, were observed on light and electron microscopy. Bacteria were also seen in intracytoplasmic vacuoles of mature enterocytes and, in areas of heavier colonization, in the lamina propria of the intestinal mucosa. A moderate inflammatory response with mild focal ulceration of the intestinal mucosa was observed. In a sequential study, we observed that the attaching-effacing lesions were well established in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum at 12 h postinoculation but did not develop in the cecum and colon until 24 to 48 h postinoculation, although bacteria had colonized the latter areas as early as 12 h postinoculation. Initially, bacteria were very intimately attached, with an irregular arrangement on the enterocyte apical cell membrane, and subsequently reoriented to form a typical palisade arrangement with a narrow regular gap between the bacterial cell wall and the enterocyte apical cell membrane. This phenomenon of early intimate attachment of irregularly disposed bacteria has not been reported for human enteropathogenic attaching and effacing E. coli and could represent a new and different mechanism of attachment and effacement to intestinal epithelial cells.

Animals↗

Identification of atypical rotaviruses in outbreaks of preweaning and postweaning diarrhea in Québec swine herds.

Intestinal contents of diarrheic pigs from 120 outbreaks of diarrhea were examined for the presence of atypical rotaviruses. Pigs involved in these outbreaks were aged two days to five weeks and samples collected over a period of one year originated from different regions of the province of Québec. Samples were analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) for the presence of viral RNA and genome profiles were compared to those of porcine rotavirus A/OSU, B/Ohio and C/Cowden. Based on electropherotypes both typical (group A) and atypical (groups B and C) rotaviruses were identified. Rotaviruses could be demonstrated in 25.8% of outbreaks and together atypical rotaviruses accounted for 46.7% of rotavirus-positive outbreaks. Other common enteropathogens were often present in conjunction with rotaviruses in the preweaning and postweaning outbreaks studied.

Animals↗

Plasma vitamin A and E in type 1 (insulin-dependent) and type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) adult diabetic patients.

Vitamin A and E status was studied in 35 type 1 (insulin-dependent) and 35 type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic patients and in 30 control subjects. Vitamin A blood concentration was significantly decreased in type 1 and increased in type 2 diabetic patients as compared to control subjects. No correlation was found between vitamin A blood concentration and blood glucose control as evaluated with HbA1c. Blood Vitamin E concentrations were significantly increased in both groups of diabetic patients and were statistically correlated with blood cholesterol, apoprotein B and triglycerides, but not with HbA1c.

Adolescent↗

[Role of age at the moment of irradiation on the induction of tumors].

The probability that rats develop tumours following a 3 Gy exposure to gamma rays from cobalt 60 was observed to depend on age at exposure. Lifetime excess of neoplasia decreased by a factor of about 10 in 9-month-old rats as compared to animals irradiated in utero. The 3-month age group developed slightly fewer tumours than the group irradiated in utero, and tumour location was different. The higher incidence of tumours observed in the foetal group was mainly due to the high sensitivities of central nervous system and gonads during organogenesis.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗

Postoperative myocardial infarction and cardiac death. Predictive value of dipyridamole-thallium imaging and five clinical scoring systems based on multifactorial analysis.

Sixty-six patients unable to complete a standard preoperative exercise test because of physical limitations were studied to determine the predictive value of individual clinical parameters, of clinical scoring systems based on multifactorial analysis, and of dipyridamole-thallium imaging before major general and vascular surgery. Study endpoints were limited to postoperative myocardial infarction or cardiac death before hospital discharge. There were nine postoperative cardiac events (seven deaths and two nonfatal infarctions). There was no statistical correlation between cardiac events and preoperative clinical descriptors, including individual clinical parameters, the Dripps-American Surgical Association score, the Goldman Cardiac Risk Index score, the Detsky Modified Cardiac Risk Index score, Eagle's clinical markers of low surgical risk, and the probability of postoperative events as determined by Cooperman's equation. There were no cardiac events in 30 patients with normal dipyridamole-thallium scans or in nine patients with fixed myocardial perfusion defects. Of 21 patients with reversible perfusion defects who underwent surgery, nine had a postoperative cardiac event (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 43%). In the six other patients with reversible defects, preoperative angiography showed severe coronary disease or cardiomyopathy. Thus in patients unable to complete a standard exercise stress test, postoperative outcome cannot be predicted clinically before major general and vascular surgery, whereas dipyridamole-thallium imaging successfully identified all patients who sustained a postoperative cardiac event.

Aged↗