Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Phillips

Publications and source records attributed to M Phillips.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Absence of seroconversion following treatment with hepatitis B immune globulin containing antibody to human immunodeficiency virus.

Recent studies have demonstrated that commercial preparations of hepatitis B immune globulin often contain antibody to the human immunodeficiency virus. The presence of this antibody has aroused concerns that treatment with hepatitis B immune globulin might passively induce human immunodeficiency virus antibody seropositivity, leading to incorrect diagnoses of human immunodeficiency virus exposure. We studied a group of 16 normal volunteers who received an intramuscular dose of hepatitis B immune globulin (0.06 ml per kg) which was later discovered to contain human immunodeficiency virus antibody. None of the subjects had human immunodeficiency virus antibody before receiving hepatitis B immune globulin. Serum specimens collected at 1 to 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20 and 24 weeks after the injection were consistently negative for human immunodeficiency virus antibody. There was no detectable human immunodeficiency virus antibody in any specimen from any subject. We conclude that intramuscular therapy with hepatitis B immune globulin in the recommended dose does not appear to place patients at risk of passive seroconversion to human immunodeficiency virus antibody positivity, despite the presence of antibody in the injected material.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Dependence of apparent diffusion coefficients on axonal spacing, membrane permeability, and diffusion time in spinal cord white matter.

We used a numerical simulation of water self-diffusion among permeable cylinders to predict the dependence of MR-based apparent diffusion coefficients in white matter on axonal separation, barrier permeability, and diffusion time (T). The transverse apparent diffusion coefficient (tADC), calculated with simulated diffusion-sensitizing gradients perpendicular to the axon fibers, remains a function of T down to diffusion times as short as .1 microsec for a range of diffusion barrier permeability. As the diffusion time lengthens, the response of tADC depends on axon diameter, with decreases in tADC occurring earliest, and most dramatically, for the smallest fiber diameter simulated (2 microm). For a given axonal separation, asymptotic values of ADC are determined by permeability alone and are the same for 2-microm and 11-microm fibers of equal membrane permeability. The effect of increased relative intracellular volume is manifested primarily in a decrease in tADC at short T. Increases in interaxonal spacing increase the tADC at asymptotically long diffusion times and reduce the dependence on permeability. However, at the widest plausible axonal separations, permeability remains an important determinant of tADC. These simulations may enhance interpretation of measured tADC in the context of the underlying physiologic and structural changes at the cellular level that accompany white-matter disease.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Toxicity and mutagenicity of 6 anti-cancer drugs in Chinese hamster V79 cells co-cultured with rat hepatocytes.

Toxicity and induction of 6-thioguanine-resistant mutants in Chinese hamster V79 cells, co-cultured with or without isolated rate hepatocytes, by 6 anti-cancer drugs (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, methotrexate, cytosine arabinoside, 6-mercaptopurine and vincristine) were studied. The effect of hepatocyte density on the cloning efficiency and recovery of mutants was found using dimethylnitrosamine as a positive control. In the absence of hepatocytes, this compound was neither toxic nor mutagenic to V79 cells, but in their presence it was highly mutagenic and extremely toxic. The cloning efficiency and mutation frequency of control (untreated) cells was unaffected by hepatocyte density. All the drugs were toxic to V79 cells, although different responses were found for certain of them depending upon whether hepatocytes were present or not. Cyclophosphamide and adriamycin were clearly mutagenic, and 6-mercaptopurine only weakly so. A slight mutagenic effect was seen for cytosine arabinoside, but both methotrexate and vincristine were negative. Here also, the presence or absence of hepatocytes was important.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Endogenous breath ethanol concentrations in abstinent alcohol abusers and normals.

A highly sensitive gas chromatographic breath assay was used to measure the concentration of endogenous ethanol in the breath of fasting volunteers who had consumed no alcoholic beverages. Normal subjects (n = 15) were studied, as well as withdrawn hospitalized alcohol abusers (n = 13) who had abstained from ethanol for at least two weeks. The mean breath ethanol concentrations were 1.88 nmol/l (SD = 1.06) in the normal subjects and 17.84 nmol/l (SD = 8.81) in the abstinent alcohol abusers. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p less than 0.001) and could have arisen either from ingestion of exogenous ethanol (from sources such as tobacco smoke) or from metabolic differences between the two groups.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prospective double-blind trial of duodenal ulcer relapse after eradication of Campylobacter pylori.

100 consecutive patients with both duodenal ulcer and Campylobacter pylori infection were followed up to see whether eradication of C pylori affected ulcer healing or relapse. Patients were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of treatment with cimetidine or colloidal bismuth subcitrate (CBS), with tinidazole or placebo being given concurrently from days 1 to 10, inclusive. Endoscopy, biopsy, and culture were done at entry, in weeks 10, 22, 34, and 62, and whenever symptoms recurred. There was no maintenance therapy. C pylori persisted in all of the cimetidine-treated patients and in 95% of those treated with cimetidine/tinidazole, but was eradicated in 27% of the CBS/placebo group and 70% of the CBS/tinidazole group. When C pylori persisted, 61% of duodenal ulcers healed and 84% relapsed. When C pylori was cleared 92% of ulcers healed (p less than 0.001) and only 21% relapsed during the 12 month follow-up period (p less than 0.0001).

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Charybdotoxin, a protein inhibitor of single Ca2+-activated K+ channels from mammalian skeletal muscle.

The recent development of techniques for recording currents through single ionic channels has led to the identification of a K+-specific channel that is activated by cytoplasmic Ca2+. The channel has complex properties, being activated by depolarizing voltages and having a voltage-sensitivity that is modulated by cytoplasmic Ca2+ levels. The conduction behaviour of the channel is also unusual, its high ionic selectivity being displayed simultaneously with a very high unitary conductance. Very little is known about the biochemistry of this channel, largely due to the lack of a suitable ligand for use as a biochemical probe for the channel. We describe here a protein inhibitor of single Ca2+-activated K+ channels of mammalian skeletal muscle. This inhibitor, a minor component of the venom of the Israeli scorpion, Leiurus quinquestriatus, reversibly blocks the large Ca2+-activated K+ channel in a simple biomolecular reaction. We have partially purified the active component, a basic protein of relative molecular mass (Mr) approximately 7,000.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Potential contributions of hypnosis to ego-strengthening procedures in EMDR. Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing.

This paper explores how hypnotic principles can be systematically incorporated into the standard EMDR protocol to enhance various ego strength capacities during EMDR treatment. Expanding these skill areas can widen the therapeutic window of possibility for clients with a variety of complex clinical issues, including posttraumatic, dissociative or personality disorders, anxiety symptoms, and depressive difficulties. Clinical case examples are used to illustrate ways of integrating hypnotic principles within a proposed EMDR protocol to promote ego strengthening and facilitate therapeutic change.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Nursing diagnosis as content organizer.

The junior year faculty in a baccalaureate nursing program reorganized nursing content around nursing diagnosis. This revision served to highlight nursing process better, made the sequence of classes more logical, reduced repetition and made the relationship of individual classes to each other clearer. Students and faculty concluded that skills in analysis, synthesis, and problem solving were greatly enhanced by this format.

Curriculum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sweat-patch testing detects inaccurate self-reports of alcohol consumption.

The object of this study was to measure how accurately drinkers report their consumption of alcohol. Twenty-two normal volunteers kept a written record of all alcoholic beverages they consumed in 1 week. During the same period, their actual intake was monitored by the sweat-patch test for alcohol consumption. Only nine subjects (40.9%) reported their alcohol consumption accurately; two (9.1%) overreported their intake, and 11 (50%) underreported their intake. Five (22.7%) of those who underreported their consumption claimed to have drunk no alcohol at all, but elevated ethanol levels in their sweat-patch tests indicated otherwise. These data suggest that self-reported claims concerning alcohol consumption or abstinence should be received with a degree of skepticism, and that greater emphasis should be placed upon objective laboratory tests for the diagnosis of alcohol abuse.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An improved method for collecting breath for the assay of acetaldehyde.

An improved method is described for the collection of breath for the subsequent assay of acetaldehyde and other volatile components. Breath is collected in a Pyrex gas-collecting tube sealed at both ends with Teflon taps. Prior to collection or assay of the samples, this tube is heated to 72 degrees C; breath is sampled for assay by piercing a rubber septum on a sideport with the needle of a similarly heated gas-tight syringe, and injected into a gas chromatograph (GC). The advantages of this system are: (1) Avoidance of the artefacts encountered in the assay of acetaldehyde in the blood; (2) suitability for sample collection at a site remote from the GC laboratory; (3) avoidance of sample loss by leakage, contamination, or partitioning into water condensed from breath; and (4) compatibility with a "nondedicated" GC lacking any special gas-collecting circuitry. A typical study of a normal human volunteer is described, demonstrating the rise and fall of the concentration of acetaldehyde and ethanol in the breath following the ingestion of an oral dose of ethanol.

Acetaldehyde↗
PubMedDate not supplied

How safe is exercise during pregnancy?

Increasing numbers of women include exercise even during pregnancy as an essential part of their daily routines. Because of the additional physiological demands imposed by pregnancy, health-care practitioners must determine whether or not aerobic exercise is, in fact, healthy for the expectant mother and developing fetus. This article examines whether or not the traditional advice that women receive regarding exercise during pregnancy is supported by the existing scientific literature.

Body Temperature Regulation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of parenteral nutrition support and chemotherapy on the phasic composition of tumor cells in gastrointestinal cancer.

BACKGROUND: Some clinical studies report the effects of parenteral nutrition in malnourished cancer patients, but few discuss the tumor response to parenteral nutrition plus chemotherapy. If used in combination, the antitumor activity of chemotherapeutic agents may compensate for the tumor stimulation of parenteral nutrition. METHODS: Ninety-two patients with operable gastrointestinal cancer and malnutrition were randomly assigned to four interventions that were administered for 7 days preoperatively: parenteral nutrition alone, parenteral nutrition plus chemotherapy, chemotherapy alone, or no treatment (control). The preintervention and postintervention DNA content, DNA index, percentage of cells in S phase, and tumor cell sensitivity to chemotherapy were measured using image cytometry. RESULTS: Parenteral nutrition resulted in a significant proliferation of tumor cells and a significant increase in the sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy; these effects were not seen in tumors of patients receiving parenteral nutrition plus chemotherapy. There was, however, a nonsignificant increase in tumor cell proliferation and sensitivity to chemotherapy in the tumors of subjects receiving combined therapy compared with those of subjects who received chemotherapy alone. The postintervention nutritional status of both the parenteral nutrition group and the parenteral nutrition plus chemotherapy group were significantly better than that of the control group and the chemotherapy group. The short-term, postoperative clinical outcomes in the chemotherapy group were significantly worse than those in the other three groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that combining chemotherapy and nutrition support preoperatively for malnourished patients with gastrointestinal cancer improves short-term nutritional status without increasing the proliferation of tumor cells and prevents the postoperative complications that occur when such patients are given chemotherapy without nutrition support. The results also suggest--but do not prove--that parenteral nutrition may increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy in malnourished patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chronic sorrow in mothers of chronically ill and disabled children.

A qualitative study is presented following the hybrid model of concept development to examine the emotions present in mothers who care for their chronically ill children at home. In particular the study attempts to examine the presence or nonpresence of chronic sorrow in three mothers through the use of observation and intensive interview techniques and by following the Schatzman and Strauss (1973) method of field research. The population for this study varied in diagnosis, sex, age, prognosis, and family structure. The commonalities included an uncertain future, a significantly changed life-style as a result of the child's illness, and the presence of nursing care in the home. The emotion called chronic sorrow, introduced in 1962 by Olshansky, has had limited exposure in the literature. The concept was originally intended for examinations of parents of severely mentally retarded children. Recently it has been examined in varied populations. Although many different reactions have been presented in the literature regarding the emotions of parents of chronically ill children, chronic sorrow has not been one of them. The examination of this emotion has been disease specific. The presence of this emotion in this population has implications for nurses working in all care settings.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical findings of West Nile virus infection in hospitalized patients, New York and New Jersey, 2000.

Outbreaks of West Nile (WN) virus occurred in the New York metropolitan area in 1999 and 2000. Nineteen patients diagnosed with WN infection were hospitalized in New York and New Jersey in 2000 and were included in this review. Eleven patients had encephalitis or meningoencephalitis, and eight had meningitis alone. Ages of patients ranged from 36 to 87 years (median 63 years). Fever and neurologic and gastrointestinal symptoms predominated. Severe muscle weakness on neurologic examination was found in three patients. Age was associated with disease severity. Hospitalized cases and deaths were lower in 2000 than in 1999, although the case-fatality rate was unchanged. Clinicians in the Northeast should maintain a high level of suspicion during the summer when evaluating older patients with febrile illnesses and neurologic symptoms, especially if associated with gastrointestinal complaints or muscle weakness.

Adult↗