Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R C Morris

Publications and source records attributed to R C Morris.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Shouldice hernia repair: results at a teaching institution.

Authors with wide experience report that the Shouldice technique for repair of inguinal hernia is very effective. The technique has not gained widespread acceptance or notoriety. For example, the 13th edition of Textbook of Surgery, edited by Sabiston, devotes only one paragraph to this type of herniorrhaphy. Because of the excellent results reported by the Shouldice Clinic, this technique was adopted at the Augusta Veterans Administration Hospital, a teaching hospital of the Medical College of Georgia. Since 1976, a total of 604 Shouldice repairs have been performed by supervised house staff; 468 patients have been followed for up to 8 years and a recurrence rate of 1.3 per cent is reported. Although the follow-up is brief, the Shouldice hernia repair is widely applicable and good results are not dependent on wide experience alone.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Programmed training of visual discriminations: a comparison of techniques.

The efficiency of three discrimination training procedures was compared for mentally handicapped children trained on a shape discrimination presented via a microcomputer. Each of three groups received one of the following training procedures; graded stimulus fading; graded prompt fading, a procedure approximating behavior modification prompting techniques; trial-and-error training. The stimulus fading and graded prompting procedures were equivalent in terms of the number of steps and criteria for fading. Results showed the two programmed techniques did not differ significantly, but both were significantly superior to trial-and-error learning in terms of number of children reaching criterion, number of trials to criterion, and number of errors. The training procedures were continued for subjects from each of the three groups for an additional two problems, followed by a trial-and-error test problem. Over the additional training problems the pattern of differences between the groups in number of errors remained significant, however differences between the groups in number of trials to criterion decreased. There were no significant differences in any of the measures on the trial-and-error test problem. Results are discussed in relation to the literature on errorless learning techniques, and the implications for applied training procedures are elucidated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Coordinately increased lysozymuria and lysosomal enzymuria induced by maleic acid.

During the acute renal tubular dysfunction of Fanconi syndrome and type 2 renal tubular acidosis (FS/RTA2) induced by maleic acid in the unanesthetized dog, we observed: 30 minutes after the onset of FS/RTA2, the urinary excretion of lysosomal enzymes, N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (NAG), beta-glucuronidase (beta-gluc) and beta-galactosidase (beta-galac), increased simultaneously with the anticipated increase in renal clearance of lysozyme; the severities of all these hyperenzymurias increased rapidly, progressively, and in parallel, all reaching a peak some 60 to 80 minutes after their onset; thereafter, while the FS/RTA2 continued undiminished in severity, the severity of the hyperenzymurias decreased rapidly, greatly, progressively, and in parallel; and sodium phosphate loading strikingly attenuated the FS/RTA2 and the hyperenzymurias. Thus, the maleic acid-induced FS/RTA2 is attended by an acute reversible-complex derangement in the renal tubular processing of proteins that: affects not only lysozyme which is normally filtered, but also NAG and other lysosomal enzymes, which are not; and is to some extent functionally separable from that of FS/RTA2. The findings suggest that the derangements in renal processing of lysozyme and lysosomal enzymes are linked, and that a phosphate-dependent metabolic abnormality in the proximal tubule can participate in the pathogenesis of both these derangements and the FS/RTA2.

Acetylglucosaminidase↗
PubMed1986

A rapid assessment of percentage hemoglobin-S in whole blood.

In an effort to bridge the gap between the rapid Sickledex screening test (Ortho Diagnostics, Raritan, NJ) and the slow but quantitative hemoglobin electrophoresis, the authors developed a rapid method for quantification of the percentage of hemoglobin S (%Hgb-S) in whole blood. The method involves quantification of the hemoglobin before and after removal of sodium dithionite-induced sickled cells for calculation of the %Hgb-S. Test results were within a +10% range of hemoglobin electrophoresis, with 67% of results within a +5% range. The method, taking 30-45 minutes to perform, offers a rapid assessment of %Hgb-S in acute care situations.

Hemoglobin, Sickle↗
PubMed1986

Evidence for a difference in vitamin D metabolism between spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar-Kyoto rats.

It has been contended that the metabolism of vitamin D in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) is different from that in Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). To investigate this possibility, the plasma concentration of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25[OH]2D) and several known determinants of its production rate were measured in SHR and WKY given normal and restricted amounts of dietary phosphorus. In 12-week-old male SHR given a normal amount of dietary phosphorus, the mean plasma concentration of 1,25(OH)2D (72 +/- 5 pg/ml) was significantly lower than that in age-matched WKY (129 +/- 6 pg/ml; p less than 0.001). The lower plasma concentration of 1,25(OH)2D in the SHR could not be attributed to higher circulating levels of inorganic phosphorus or ionized calcium, lower plasma concentrations of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, or acidosis. However, in the SHR, urinary excretion of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (12.5 +/- 0.4 nmol/mg creatinine) was significantly lower than that in WKY (15.2 +/- 0.3 nmol/mg creatinine; p less than 0.001). In both SHR and WKY, restriction of dietary phosphorus for 1 week induced an increase in the plasma concentration of 1,25(OH)2D without affecting blood pressure. The current findings indicate that in 12-week-old male SHR, 1,25(OH)2D metabolism is different from that in age-matched WKY. The activity of 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1 alpha-hydroxylase, however, appears to be at least partially responsive to short-term restriction of dietary phosphorus. In SHR, the activity of 25-hydroxyvitamin D-1 alpha-hydroxylase may be lower than that in WKY, perhaps due in part to some impairment in the renal metabolism of, or responsiveness to, cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Oral intake of phosphorus can determine the serum concentration of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D by determining its production rate in humans.

Changes in the oral intake of phosphorus could induce the reported changes in the serum concentration of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-(OH)2D) by inducing changes in its production rate (PR) or metabolic clearance rate (MCR), or both. To investigate these possibilities, we employed the constant infusion equilibrium technique to measure the PR and MCR of 1,25-(OH)2D in six healthy men in whom the oral intake of phosphorus was initially maintained at 1,500 mg/70 kg body weight per d for 9 d, then restricted to 500 mg/d (coupled with oral administration of aluminum hydroxide) for 10 d, and then supplemented to 3,000 mg/d for 10 d. With phosphorus restriction, the serum concentration of 1,25-(OH)2D increased by 80% from a mean of 38 +/- 3 to 68 +/- 6 pg/ml, P less than 0.001; the PR increased from 1.8 +/- 0.2 to 3.8 +/- 0.6 micrograms/d, P less than 0.005; the MCR did not change significantly. The fasting serum concentration of phosphorus decreased from 3.5 +/- 0.2 to 2.6 +/- 0.2 mg/dl, P less than 0.01. With phosphorus supplementation, the serum concentration of 1,25-(OH)2D decreased abruptly, reaching a nadir within 2 to 4 d; after 10 d of supplementation, the mean concentration of 27 +/- 4 pg/ml was lower by 29%, P less than 0.01, than the value measured when phosphorus intake was normal. The PR decreased to 1.3 +/- 0.2 micrograms/d, P less than 0.05; the MCR did not change significantly. The fasting serum concentration of phosphorus increased significantly, but only initially. These data demonstrate that in healthy men, reductions and increases in the oral intake of phosphorus can induce rapidly occurring, large, inverse, and persisting changes in the serum concentration of 1,25-(OH)2D. Changes in the PR of 1,25-(OH)2D account entirely for the phosphorus-induced changes in serum concentration of this hormone.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1986

Attenuation of deoxycorticosterone-induced hypertension by supplemental dietary calcium.

To investigate whether provision of supplemental dietary calcium could attenuate hypertension in the deoxycorticosterone (DOC) model of hypertension we directly measured mean arterial pressure (MAP) in uninephrectomized rats given DOC, a fixed amount of dietary NaCl, and supplemental dietary calcium as CaCO3 or CaCl2. After 4 weeks MAP in rats given 4% dietary calcium as CaCO3 was significantly lower than the in controls given 0.5% calcium as CaCO3. Provision of 2% calcium as CaCO3, however, failed to attenuate hypertension. Provision of just 1% dietary calcium as CaCl2 attenuated hypertension without inducing impaired weight gain or hypophosphataemia. These findings demonstrate that in rats given DOC and NaCl, provision of supplemental dietary calcium can attenuate hypertension. The findings suggest that: (1) the blood pressure response to supplemental calcium can be determined by the anionic component of the calcium salt consumed, and (2) the antihypertensive effect of supplemental calcium is not just a consequence of impaired weight gain or hypophosphataemia.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Liquid-chromatographic measurements of inosine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine in studies of fructose-induced degradation of adenine nucleotides in humans and rats.

We applied a sensitive, precise liquid-chromatographic method of analysis for inosine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine to the study of fructose metabolism in humans and in rats. In the rat, intravenous loading with fructose induced, within minutes, substantial increases in the concentrations of inosine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine in plasma and urine. In plasma, these concentrations peaked after 5 min, then practically disappeared within 10 min. As expected, the fructose-induced increase in hypoxanthine was greatly amplified by pretreating the rats with allopurinol, an inhibitor of xanthine oxidase. In a healthy human subject, intravenous administration of fructose also induced prompt, substantial, and rapidly reversing increases in the concentrations of these metabolites of adenine nucleotides in plasma. The finding that fructose induced almost-immediate increases in the plasma concentrations of inosine, hypoxanthine, and xanthine is consistent with previous studies in rats, in which parenteral administration of fructose induced almost-immediate decreases of total adenine nucleotides (ATP + ADP + AMP) in the liver, and increased concentrations of uric acid and allantoin in the plasma.

Adenine Nucleotides↗
PubMed1985

Hypertension in the recently weaned Dahl salt-sensitive rat despite a diet deficient in sodium chloride.

The Dahl rat is used as a model of hypertension that is "sensitive" to dietary salt (sodium chloride, NaCl). When dietary salt is supplemented in the Dahl rat, the arterial blood pressure of the "salt-sensitive" strain (S) becomes much greater than that of the "salt-resistant" strain (R). It has been widely reported that arterial blood pressure of the young Dahl S rat is not greater than that of the young Dahl R rat before dietary salt is supplemented. In the present study, however, mean arterial pressure directly measured in unanesthetized, unrestrained S rats was greater than in R rats, both when they had been recently weaned and for at least 10 weeks thereafter, despite their having been fed a diet frankly deficient in salt. In weanling S rats, the ratio of heart weight to body weight was also significantly greater than that in weanling R rats, suggesting that the greater blood pressure in the S rat causes cardiac hypertrophy. Thus, biologic differences demonstrated between the S rat and the R rat after weaning, including the phenomenon of salt-sensitivity, could be a consequence of, or be dependent on, an already extant difference in arterial blood pressure between the two strains.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Dietary chloride as a determinant of disordered calcium metabolism in salt-dependent hypertension.

In rats given desoxycorticosterone (DOC), the recently reported finding that a normal amount of dietary sodium chloride (NaCl) induces hypertension but an equimolar amount of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) does not, might be a consequence of the differing effects of the two sodium salts on the metabolism of calcium. In accord with this hypothesis, we have found that, in uninephrectomized rats given DOC: Dietary NaCl induces persisting hypercalciuria and hypertension whereas an approximately equimolar amount of dietary NaHCO3 induces neither hypercalciuria nor hypertension. The urinary excretion of calcium becomes greater in rats given NaCl than in those given NaHCO3, before their blood pressures become different. Replacing dietary NaCl with a near equimolar amount of dietary NaHCO3 corrects both the hypercalciuria and the hypertension initially induced by NaCl.

Animals↗