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Biomedical subjects

R Morgan

Publications and source records attributed to R Morgan.

337 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

Changes in blood markers of serotoninergic activity following high intensity cycle ergometer exercise.

The purpose of this study was to measure concentrations of adrenaline (A), noradrenaline (NE), free tryptophan (f-Trp), prolactin (PRL), nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), and blood lactate following 30 s of high-intensity cycle ergometer exercise. Adrenaline (A) and NE concentrations increased immediately postexercise (P < 0.05) and returned to levels observed at baseline 24 h later. Plasma f-Trp concentration decreased by 23.5% immediately following exercise (P < 0.05). There were no changes observed in serum concentrations of PRL. Plasma NEFA concentrations decreased immediately following exercise by 46% (P < 0.05) and returned to baseline values 24 h later. Whole blood lactate concentrations increased immediately post exercise (P < 0.05), and were higher than those measured 24 h later (P < 0.05). These findings indicate that blood markers of serotoninergic activity were unaltered by a single 30 s bout of maximal cycling.

Adult↗

Intravascular lipoma of the superior vena cava: CT features.

An intrinsic lipoma of the right brachiocephalic vein and superior vena cava is described. This intraluminal tumour expanded the superior vena cava and produced superior mediastinal widening, which was of fatty radiodensity on chest radiography. The CT and venographic findings in this case are described.

Adult↗

Enumeration of waterborne Escherichia coli with petrifilm plates: comparison to standard methods.

Escherichia coli is often monitored in environmental waters as an indicator of the possible presence of human pathogens associated with feces. Petrifilm E. coli/coliform count plates (3M, Minneapolis, MN), previously validated for enumerating E. coli in food, were tested for monitoring E. coli in environmental water. Escherichia coli counts in environmental water samples enumerated with Petrifilm were significantly correlated (R > 0.9; slope = 0.9-1.0; p < 0.001) with counts obtained with three commonly used methods, mTEC (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD), m-ColiBlue (Hach, Loveland, CO), and Colilert-18/IDEXX Quanti-Tray 2000 (IDEXX, Westbrook, ME). Blue colonies on Petrifilm plates were most reliably identified as E. coli when accompanied by gas formation, as determined by characterization of the colonies on MacConkey agar plates (PML Microbiologicals, Mississauga, ON, Canada) and by polymerase chair reaction (PCR) with E. coli-specific primers. The main disadvantage of Petrifilm plates for environmental water testing is the small volume (1 mL per sample) that can be tested; however, the plates appear to be suitable for screening and locating sites that exceed criteria for total body and partial body contact. Simplicity of use and storage, reliability, and relatively low cost make Petrifilm plates suitable for volunteer-based and educational water quality monitoring applications, particularly when used as a preliminary screening method to identify problem sites.

DNA, Bacterial↗

Comparison between flow cytometric and cytogenetic tumor cell DNA content using a simple flow sample preparation method: ploidy comparison of 86 fresh pediatric tumors.

A comparison of tumor ploidy by flow cytometry (FL) and cytogenetics (CYG) was made in 86 fresh pediatric solid (n = 47) and hematopoietic (n = 39) tumors using simple sampling and semiautomated proprietary FL preparation methods and defined histogram interpretive criteria. Tumor karyotypes with 44-48 chromosomes were regarded as CYG diploid and other chromosomal complements CYG aneuploid for comparison purposes. Five histograms were uninterpretable and nine cases failed to produce 15 or more metaphases for karyotyping. Mean G0/G1 peak coefficients of variation of all 86 cases were 2.7 and 3.0 for the diploid and aneuploid populations, respectively. Of the 72 eligible cases, 41 were concordant diploid and 16 concordant aneuploid with an overall concordance of 79%. The DNA index and karyotypic index correlation coefficient was 0.92 for the 16 concordant aneuploid cases. Analysis of the 15 discordant cases highlights the limitations of both methods and of the histogram interpretive criteria and indicates that FL is probably more sensitive for detection of tumor aneuploidy as defined and detected by these methods.

Aneuploidy↗

Stable transfection of reticuloendotheliosis virus-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines.

Lymphoblastoid T cell lines were established by infection of chicken splenocytes with reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV). The target cells first were cultured in interleukin-containing conditioned medium or were stimulated by concanavalin A, or both. Most cell lines were T cells expressing CD3 and one of the T cell receptors, and all cell lines were positive for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigens. Several REV-transformed cell lines were stably transfected using electroporation with a selectable plasmid, pNL1, containing the neor gene. Transfected cell lines were selected using G418 and were maintained for periods up to 137 days. Transfected cell lines were susceptible to MHC class-I restricted lysis by cytotoxic T lymphocytes from REV-infected chickens.

Animals↗

The free-running circadian rhythms of two schizophrenics.

Two chronic schizophrenic patients and a psychiatrist spent 21 days in an isolation unit. For the first 4 days they lived on normal time but thereafter the clock was removed and they were free-running. The psychiatrist followed the schedule set by the schizophrenics, one of whom spontaneously decided the times of retiring and rising while the other followed passively. The psychiatrist commonly retired some time later but without disturbing the schizophrenics, the mean duration of whose days was 23.7 h, distinctly shorter than is usual in healthy subjects. This was made up of an activity period of 11.77 h and a rest period of 11.94 h. Pulse rate and temperature were measured frequently throughout the waking hours and rectal temperature was monitored during sleep. Urine samples were also collected throughout the 24 h and were analysed for potassium, sodium, chloride, creatinine, phosphate, calcium and uric acid. Urinary and temperature rhythms followed approximately the activity rhythm, in both healthy and schizophrenic subjects. Pulse rate in the schizophrenics followed a rhythm with a period slightly less than that of activity, and in one schizophrenic showed a consistently early phasing. 11-hydroxycorticosteriods at the end of the observation showed a very early phasing corresponding to that of activity. The findings suggest that schizophrenics may have an abnormally short circadian period.

11-Hydroxycorticosteroids↗

Does light rather than social factors synchronize the temperature rhythm of psychiatric patients?

Oral temperatures have been measured regularly in a group of institutionalized psychiatric patients. Each subject had his temperature measured on at least two occasions, once when Greenwich Mean Time was in operation (November-December) and at least once when British Summer Time was in use (July-October). There was no difference between the mesors and amplitudes of the rhythms measured at different times of the year. When all results were expressed on Greenwich Mean Time, the acrophase measured in the summer or autumn tended to be later than that measured in the same subject in winter. The difference in acrophase could not be attributed to differences in routine of the subjects and suggests that the time of sunset has an effect upon temperature rhythms. The implication of this result in terms of the relative importance of social factors and light as synchronizers is discussed.

Adult↗

Identification of the putative cytadhesin gene of Mycoplasma gallisepticum and its use as a DNA probe.

A portion of the putative Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) cytadhesin gene was identified and used as a diagnostic DNA probe. Degenerate oligonucleotide primers corresponding to conserved regions of the cytadhesin proteins from two human mycoplasmas, M. pneumoniae and M. genitalium, were synthesized for use in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on genomic MG DNA. A 583-base-pair MG DNA fragment was amplified and subsequently cloned and sequenced. The MG DNA fragment is predicted to encode a 193-amino-acid peptide. This peptide demonstrates significant homology to the expected portions of the two human mycoplasmal cytadhesin proteins. Used as a probe to study the distribution of this fragment in pathogenic and nonpathogenic avian mycoplasmas, the PCR product hybridized to genomic DNA from all seven MG strains tested. However, it failed to hybridize to M. synoviae, M. meleagridis, M. iowae, or M. gallinarum DNA.

Adhesins, Bacterial↗