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Biomedical subjects

M Sheridan

Publications and source records attributed to M Sheridan.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Availability of cigarettes to under-age youth in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Ninety-three percent of surveyed Fond du Lac School District students reported cigarettes as being "fairly easy" to "easy" to obtain. Easy access to cigarettes from retail outlets may be instrumental in the inordinately high local prevalence of under-age smoking. Fourteen-year-old youths were trained to attempt purchases of cigarettes from all cigarette outlets in the city of Fond du Lac. Information relating to the purchase attempts was recorded and analyzed. Our 60% purchase success rate stems from purchases at 77% of vending machines and 43% of over-the-counter outlets. Sales from taverns accounted for approximately 25% of the totals. Our results are consistent with other studies and argue for retailer education and systematic enforcement of policies that address underage purchase of cigarettes from licensed outlets including those that otherwise proscribe minors from entering.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The binding of the fluorescent ATP analogue 2'(3')-trinitrophenyladenosine-5'-triphosphate to rat liver fatty acid-binding protein.

The less polar fluorescent analogue of ATP, 2'(3')-trinitrophenyl-5'-triphosphate bound to rat liver fatty acid-binding protein with high affinity (Kd 6.3 x 10(-6) M) and 1:1 molar stoichiometry. This probe bound to the fatty acid binding site of the protein and was displaced by oleic acid and oleoyl CoA. High concentrations of ATP did not cause significant displacement of the fluorescent ATP analogue. Since the anionic part of this molecule is the triphosphate group it is difficult to envisage this group being accommodated at an anion binding site within the non-polar core of this protein as is the case with other fatty acid binding proteins. Therefore it is anticipated that the ligand must bind to liver fatty acid-binding protein with this triphosphate group surface exposed. Caution must be exercised when using the more hydrophobic fluorescent analogue of ATP to investigate the ATP binding properties of proteins.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1990

Precipitants of violence in a psychiatric inpatient setting.

Data gathered from the medical record and in interviews with staff and patients in an inpatient psychiatric setting at a Veterans Affairs medical center were used to examine events preceding 73 episodes in which patients were placed in four-point restraints. The behaviors leading to restraint included physical aggression, verbal threats, and threats with an object as a weapon. These behaviors were more likely to relate to external situations than to the patient's internal psychiatric symptoms. Staff were most frequently the target of patients' aggression, and patients were more likely to view the events leading to restraint as conflict with staff. No differences in the subsequent number of restraint episodes or hours in restraints were found between patients with positive and negative responses to the index restraint episode.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The subjective assessment of cataract.

The medical treatment of cataract now appears to be a distinct possibility. A number of anti-cataract formulations are being clinically tested, and more clinical trials are being planned. To obtain a true assessment of a drug's efficacy, a battery of tests are needed which can accurately assess cataract progress. A clinical trial of the proposed anti-cataract drug Bendalina is being conducted. The six subjective methods used to assess cataract progression in the trial are presented. These are refractive error, LogMAR visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, glare sensitivity, retinal visual acuity and displacement threshold hyperacuity. The reasons for using each technique and their method of measurement is explained.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Corneal asphericity and refractive error.

The relationship between corneal curvature measured by classical keratometry and refractive error raises the question of a possible systematic relationship between refractive error and the degree of corneal asphericity. A recomputation and analysis of previously published data leads to the conclusion that the different refractive groups have similar values of the parameter 'p' and differ only in the apical radius of the cornea.

Cornea↗
PubMed1989

The measurement of the corneal ellipse for the contact lens practitioner.

A keratometric instrument is described which can be used to measure the p-value of the corneal ellipse. The performance of the instrument is compared with that of the Guillbert Routit topographical keratometer and the Wesley Jessen P. E. K. The application of the p-value to contact lens fitting is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Nonrotation of the midgut presenting in the adolescent and adult.

The most common abnormality of midgut rotation and fixation is nonrotation of the midgut. This most commonly presents in the neonatal period with duodenal obstruction or midgut volvulus. However, this condition can present outside the neonatal period as chronic abdominal pain, or as an abdominal emergency. Two such cases are reported. Normal and abnormal embryology is described, and diagnosis and management are discussed.

Abdomen, Acute↗
PubMed1988

The use of accurate visual acuity measurements in clinical anti-cataract formulation trials.

A standardized visual acuity technique is presented for use in anti-cataract drug trials. Ferris Logmar charts were used in repeatability studies of vision, visual acuity and pinhole visual acuity measurements for twenty normal subjects (mean (+/- SD) age 64 +/- 6.3 years). Visual acuity measurements were shown to be the most repeatable and thought to be the most suitable for monitoring cataract progression. Repeated visual acuity measurements were made on 29 cataractous eyes of 15 subjects (mean (+/- SD) age 67.8 +/- 7.2 years). A Logmar score change of 0.1 (one line) was shown to be a statistically significant change. This value can be used in statistical analyses of drug efficacy. The normal data gives a mean Logmar visual acuity of 1.15 (Snellen equivalent 6/5). This indicates the inadequacy of using 6/6 as a norm value for visual acuity, even for older patients. As the possibility of reversal of cataract theoretically exists in the early stages of cortical and capsular cataracts, patients with small amounts of these types of cataract are ideal patients for anti-cataract formulation trials. The normal visual acuity results indicate that the inclusion criteria for clinical trials can include patients with cataracts with visual acuity as good as 6/6.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Studies on fatty acid-binding proteins. Changes in the concentration of hepatic fatty acid-binding protein during development in the rat.

The concentration of hepatic fatty acid-binding protein was determined in the livers of rats at various stages of development from foetus to young adult. Fatty acid-binding protein concentrations were determined by quantifying the fluorescence enhancement on the binding of the fluorescent probe 11-(dansylamino)-undecanoic acid. A 20-fold increase in the concentration of the protein was observed between the foetus and adult, and this increase was confirmed by immuno-blotting. No other protein in the 14,000-Mr range was observed in the foetus. Possible alternative fatty acid-binding proteins could not be detected in h.p.l.c.-fractionated foetal cytosol by the fluorescence-enhancement method.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Diet and hyperactivity: is there a relationship.

In 1973 Dr Ben Feingold, a California alergist, proposed that salicylates, artificial flavors, and artificial food colors are a cause of hyperactivity. Dr Feingold recommended a diet free of these substances as both treatment and prevention of the condition. He has published two popular books on the subject, Why Your Child Is Hyperactive (1974) and The Feingold Cookbook for Hyperactive Children (1979). Many parents have adopted the diet for their hyperactive children, and some have reported a noticeable improvement in their child's behavior when the diet was followed. In recent years a number of experiments have been carried out to evaluate the relationship between hyperactivity, salicylates, artificial flavors. The data indicate that the symptoms of the vast majority of cases of children labeled "hyperactive" are not related to additives in their diet.

Child↗
PubMed1979

After-image transfer--evaluation of short-term treatment.

The records of treatment by the after-image transfer method of 21 children, mainly with strabismus amblyopia, were examined to evaluate the acuity improvement in the short term. There was no significant improvement in 15 cases. In several other patients, an immediate response to the after-image method occurred, but these patients' binocular vision and acuity had deteriorated following previous improvement achieved by other orthoptic methods.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

The foveal reflex in amblyopia.

The relative brightness of the foveal reflex between amblyopic eyes and their fellows was examined. Differences in reflex appearances were found in some patients but not in others. Equal appearance of the foveal reflexes does not eliminate the possibility of amblyopia, nor is there a difference in appearance related to the degree of amblyopia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Biosynthesis of thyrotropin-releasing hormone in organ cultures of the guinea pig median eminence.

Guinea pig median eminence tissue was put into organ culture for periods up to 13 days. The cultured tissue was examined in 3 ways at various ages: a) morphologically, by transmission electron microscopy and light microscopic autoradiography; b) biochemically, by determination of the ability of the cultures to accumulate [3H]L-proline and to incorporate this isotope into [3H]TRH; and c) by bioassay, in which the content of TRH in tissue and culture medium was determined by the ability of extracts of both to release radioimmunoassayable TSH from rat hemi-pituitaries incubated in vitro. It was found that the cultures exhibited a high degree of preservation of ependymal cell morphology and a sustained ability to accumulate [3H]L-proline over the entire 13-day time course. Neuronal elements showed a progressive degeneration with time in culture, and the ability of the culture to produce [3H]TRH was lost concomitantly with the loss in neuronal integrity.

Animals↗