Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Harris

Publications and source records attributed to R Harris.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Characteristics relating to ovarian cancer risk: collaborative analysis of seven U.S. case-control studies. Epithelial ovarian cancer in black women. Collaborative Ovarian Cancer Group.

BACKGROUND: Previous epidemiologic studies of ovarian cancer have focused chiefly on White women, who have a higher incidence of ovarian cancer than Black women. No study has previously examined risk factors for ovarian cancer among Black women. PURPOSE: This study was designed to evaluate the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer in Black women in relation to reproductive characteristics such as pregnancy, oral contraceptive use, and breast-feeding, and to determine whether differences in reproductive factors between Black and White women account for differences in ovarian cancer incidence. METHODS: Combining interview data from seven case-control studies, we compared reproductive characteristics of 110 Black case subjects with a diagnosis of epithelial ovarian cancer between 1971 and 1986 with characteristics of 251 Black population control subjects and 114 Black hospital control subjects. We also compared the prevalence of reproductive factors in 246 Black population control subjects and 4378 White population control subjects and estimated the fraction of Black-White differences in ovarian cancer incidence attributable to racial differences in prevalence of these characteristics. RESULTS: Decreased risks of epithelial ovarian cancer in Black women were associated with parity of four or higher (odds ratio [OR] = 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.25-1.1), breast-feeding for 6 months or longer (OR = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.36-2.0), and use of oral contraceptives for 6 years or longer (OR = 0.62; 95% CI = 0.24-1.6). A greater proportion of Black women (48%) than White women (27%) reported four or more term pregnancies, and Black women (62%) were more likely than White women (53%) to have breast-fed their children. Oral contraceptive use was more common among White women (59%) than Black women (51%). CONCLUSION: Differences in the prevalence of other factors related to ovarian cancer risk or differences in genetic susceptibility must explain most of the Black-White differences in incidence of ovarian cancer.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Colour Duplex imaging through wound dressings.

Colour flow Duplex scanning is becoming the method of choice to determine patency and haemodynamic status in infrainguinal grafts and native arteries. Due to surgical wounds and ulcers, there are often dressings covering the leg above the vessel to be scanned. There is no data as to the effect of different wound dressings on colour flow Duplex signals. Ten normal superficial femoral arteries were scanned by a blinded operator. Initially the artery was visualised to assess the normal image produced for each artery on B-mode and colour flow ultrasound and a Doppler reading was taken. Then each of five commonly used dressings were applied to the skin above the artery, in random order and the blinded operator graded the signal produced on a linear analogue scale. Primapore, an absorbent material dressing and Spyroflex, a bilaminate membrane dressing, did not transmit ultra-sound at all. Granuflex extra thin allowed a clear B-mode image of each artery to be visualised and an adequate Doppler waveform to be obtained. However colour flow mapping was less than optimal although it was possible in each of the arteries. Opsite and Tegaderm, two thin membrane dressings allowed excellent B-mode and colour flow images, in addition to clear Doppler signals. In patients who require dressings and who may require colour flow Duplex scanning of vessels in the same area, we would suggest the use of a product that permits ultrasound transmission, thus saving the necessity of removing the dressing for the assessment.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

A clinical, genetic and audiological study of patients and families with bilateral acoustic neurofibromatosis.

The neurofibromatoses consist of at least two distinct autosomal dominant hereditary disorders. Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is due to a lesion on chromosome 17q. Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is caused by a defect on chromosome 22q. The hallmark of NF2 is the development, in the second and third decades, of bilateral acoustic neuromas. NF1 is characterized by the appearance of café-au-lait spots and neurofibromas in addition to iris hamartomas, or Lisch nodules, of the eye, during the first and second decades. Ten families were personally studied. A total of 16 members were found to be affected with NF2. A protocol for evaluation and review of subjects and relatives of NF2 families is proposed. A team approach, coordinating the expertise of multiple specialties is recommended.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Type 2 neurofibromatosis: the need for supraregional care?

The results of a U.K. study of 145 cases of type 2 neurofibromatosis has shown generally very poor operative results in terms of hearing and facial nerve preservation. Only 9 out of 118 vestibular schwannoma (acoustic neuroma) operations resulted in any clinically detectable hearing preservation and only 32 left the patient with good or normal (House grade I or II) ipsilateral facial nerve function. Although operation is still the definitive treatment of vestibular schwannoma (acoustic neuroma) and may be a lifesaving procedure, it appears that the evidence in favour of early operation is only valid when carried out in highly specialized centres. The special problems of NF2 cases who may go on to develop multiple spinal and cranial tumours making them wheelchair bound and blind as well as deaf warrants a careful experienced approach. Timing of operations may be critical for the enhancement of useful years of quality life. We therefore propose the setting up of a national NF2 register, with the management of cases at a few supraregional centres.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Mutations in the PAX3 gene causing Waardenburg syndrome type 1 and type 2.

Waardenburg syndrome (WS) is a combination of deafness and pigmentary disturbances, normally inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. The pathology involves neural crest derivatives, but WS is heterogeneous clinically and genetically. Some type I WS families show linkage with markers on distal 2q and in three cases the disease has been attributed to mutations in the PAX3 gene. PAX3 encodes a paired domain, a highly conserved octapeptide and probably also a paired-type homeodomain. Here we describe a further three PAX3 mutations which cause WS; one alters the octapeptide motif plus the presumed homeodomain; a second alters all three elements and the third alters the paired box alone. The latter occurs in a family with probable type 2 WS, a clinical variant usually considered not to be allelic with type 1 WS.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Influence of oral creatine supplementation of muscle torque during repeated bouts of maximal voluntary exercise in man.

1. The present experiment was undertaken to investigate the influence of oral creatine supplementation, shown previously to increase the total creatine content of human skeletal muscle (Harris RC, Soderlund K, Hultman E. Clin Sci 1992; 83: 367-74), on skeletal muscle isokinetic torque and the accumulation of plasma ammonia and blood lactate during five bouts of maximal exercise. 2. Twelve subjects undertook five bouts of 30 maximal voluntary isokinetic contractions, interspersed with 1 min recovery periods, before and after 5 days of placebo (4 x 6 g of glucose/day, n = 6) or creatine (4 x 5 g of creatine plus 1 g of glucose/day, n = 6) oral supplementation. Muscle torque production and plasma ammonia and blood lactate accumulation were measured during and after exercise on each treatment. 3. No difference was seen when comparing muscle peak torque production during exercise before and after placebo ingestion. After creatine ingestion, muscle peak torque production was greater in all subjects during the final 10 contractions of exercise bout 1 (P < 0.05), throughout the whole of exercise bouts 2 (P < 0.01), 3 (P < 0.05) and 4 (P = 0.057) and during contractions 11-20 of the final exercise bout (P < 0.05), when compared with the corresponding measurements made before creatine ingestion. Plasma ammonia accumulation was lower during and after exercise after creatine ingestion. No differences were found when comparing blood lactate levels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1993

Isolation and properties of a soluble sialidase from the culture fluid of Chinese hamster ovary cells.

A soluble sialidase that can degrade recombinant glycoproteins expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells has been isolated and purified to near homogeneity from the cell culture fluid of this host. Purification of approximately 34,000-fold was carried out using conventional purification techniques including sequential DEAE-Sepharose and S-Sepharose ion-exchange chromatography, followed by hydrophobic interaction chromatography with Phenyl-Toyopearl. Final purification was achieved by heparin-agarose and chromatofocusing chromatography. The minimum molecular weight of the sialidase on SDS-PAGE was approximately 43,000 Da. When the final preparation was examined under non-denaturing conditions, two major (pI = 6.8 and 7.0) and five minor electrophoretic forms with different isoelectric points were identified. The basis for the electrophoretic heterogeneity is not known, but it was not due to carbohydrate diversity since no carbohydrates were detected on the purified protein. The enzyme degraded a variety of sialyl-conjugate substrates, at a pH optimum of 5.9, including intact glycoproteins, oligosaccharides and gangliosides with a 4-fold preference for 2,3- versus 2,6-linked sialic acid residues. With ganglioside substrates, internally linked sialic acid residues were not cleaved by the enzyme. Delineation of this enzyme from the lysosomal and plasma membrane sialidases was made using inhibition studies with C-9 substituted 5-acetamido-2,6-anhydro-3,5-dideoxy-D-glycero-D-galacto-non-2- enonic acid derivatives. The enzyme was identified in several CHO cell lines by immunoblotting using antiserum raised against a synthetic peptide based on amino acid sequence of a fragment derived by trypsin digestion of the purified sialidase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

A disease-associated germline deletion maps the type 2 neurofibromatosis (NF2) gene between the Ewing sarcoma region and the leukaemia inhibitory factor locus.

RFLP typing of members of a neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) family suggested that affected individuals were hemizygous at the neurofilament heavy chain (NEFH) locus, possibly as a result of a disease-associated deletion. Conventional karyotyping revealed no evidence for a deletion and all or a majority of the affected family members were heterozygous for closely linked markers which mapped proximal to the NEFH locus (D22S1 and D22S56) and for the distal marker D22S32. FISH analysis confirmed a disease-associated germinal deletion on 22q which encompassed the NEFH locus, which is known to be very closely linked to NF2, but did not extend as far as the proximal Ewing sarcoma region or the distal leukaemia factor (LIF) locus. PFGE analysis with a LIF cosmid subclone identified patient-specific NotI and MluI fragments and suggested that the deletion is about 700 kb in length. Although this large deletion could be expected to eliminate a considerable fraction, and possibly all of the NF2 gene, the resulting phenotype is the mild, so-called Gardner subtype of NF2. The deletion should provide a useful mapping resource for characterising the chromosomal region containing the NF2 locus.

Alleles↗
PubMed1993

Accumulation of the F plasmid TraJ protein in cpx mutants of Escherichia coli.

We report here studies of the cellular control of F plasmid TraJ protein levels, focusing on the effects of chromosomal cpx mutations. The principal conclusion from our results is that the cpx mutations impair accumulation of the TraJ protein, thereby reducing tra gene expression. We measured TraJ activity in vivo by expression of a traY'-'lacZ fusion gene and TraJ protein by immuno-overlay blot. In strains with normal TraJ levels, traY expression and donor-related functions were reduced in cells carrying any of four cpxA mutations. In the strain background used to isolate cpx mutants, these reductions were especially evident in cells grown to high density, when traY expression and donor activity both increased in cpx+ cells. In each of the four cpxA mutants tested, TraJ levels were lower than in the otherwise isogenic cpxA+ strain. In cells grown to high density, the differences ranged from 4-fold in the cpxA6 strain to > 10-fold in the cpxA2, cpxA5, and cpxA9 strains. The cpxA2 mutation had little or no effect on traY expression or on donor-related functions when TraJ was present in excess of its limiting level in F' or Hfr cells or on a mutant traY promoter whose expression in vivo was independent of TraJ.

Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins↗
PubMed1993

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1): knowledge, experience, and reproductive decisions of affected patients and families.

Eighty-one subjects (56 affected patients and 25 parents of isolated affected cases) from 63 families with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) on the North Western Regional Genetic Family Register (NWRGFR) were interviewed. Patients were interviewed either before (n = 26) or after (n = 55) genetic counselling. In the group as a whole, knowledge of the clinical features and the genetic aspects of the condition was poor (mean score 7 within the range of 0 to 18). The following factors were significantly associated with higher knowledge: (1) genetic counselling, (2) higher social class, (3) child with NF1, (4) when NF1 had influenced reproductive decisions, (5) young age at diagnosis, and (6) member of a patient support group. The majority of the affected subjects perceived themselves to be more severely affected than by medical classification, with persons who had been diagnosed later in life, had a child with NF1, or who were concerned about the cosmetic aspects of the disease perceiving themselves to be more severely affected. Assessment of the psychosocial effects of NF1 at different stages of life showed that 63% of affected subjects experienced difficulties at school and 48% said that the condition, particularly cosmetic aspects, caused anxiety during adolescence (n = 54). These difficulties may have contributed to later problems with career attainment and confidence in relationships. Seventy-seven percent of parents stated that their child was experiencing difficulties at school relating to NF1 (n = 51). Of the subjects at risk of having a child with NF1 and who knew about NF1 before having their family (n = 32), 45% said that it had influenced their reproductive decisions. Of 29 subjects who were still considering children, 41% wished to have prenatal diagnosis in a future pregnancy, but only three subjects stated that they would terminate an affected pregnancy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Tandem duplication within a neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) gene exon in a family with features of Watson syndrome and Noonan syndrome.

Type 1 neurofibromatosis (NF1), Watson syndrome (WS), and Noonan syndrome (NS) show some overlap in clinical manifestations. In addition, WS has been shown to be linked to markers flanking the NF1 locus and a deletion at the NF1 locus demonstrated in a WS patient. This suggests either that WS and NF1 are allelic or that phenotypes arise from mutations in very closely linked genes. Here we provide evidence for the former by demonstrating a mutation in the NF1 gene in a family with features of both WS and NS. The mutation is an almost perfect in-frame tandem duplication of 42 bases in exon 28 of the NF1 gene. Unlike the mutations previously described in classical NF1, which show a preponderance of null alleles, the mutation in this family would be expected to result in a mutant neurofibromin product.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Non-woven, disposable theatre gowns for 'high-risk' surgery.

The ability to resist fluid penetration was measured in body fabric and forearm seams of standard and reinforced non-woven disposable theatre gowns. Six standard use, non-woven gowns showed water strike-through in the body area at pressures ranging between 12.1 +/- 0.8 cmH2O and 23.2 +/- 2.2 cmH2O (means +/- 95% confidence interval). Two products resisted fluid penetration of the forearm seam at pressures similar to that of the fabric alone (16.8 +/- 1.0 cmH2O and 18.6 +/- 0.9 cmH2O respectively) but other standard gowns leaked at significantly lower pressures (range 4.6-6.9 cmH2O). (P < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). Six of seven high-protection gowns proved fluid resistant at a pressure in excess of 50 cm in the reinforced body zone but four reinforced gowns leaked at stitched arm seams at a pressure of less than 10 cmH2O despite an inner impermeable layer of fabric covering the forearm. Three gowns with heat or adhesive sealed reinforced arm seams resisted fluid penetration up to a pressure of 50 cmH2O. Standard gowns and some reinforced gowns do not offer full protection against forearm contamination through stitched seams. A gown with sealed seams and impermeable fabric should be chosen for high-risk cases.

Disposable Equipment↗