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Biomedical subjects

R Nelson

Publications and source records attributed to R Nelson.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources

Viral polypeptides detected by a complement-dependent neutralizing murine monoclonal antibody to human cytomegalovirus.

Murine monoclonal antibodies were produced which coimmunoprecipitated, under reducing conditions, 130,000- and 55,000-dalton (Da) polypeptides from cells infected with human cytomegalovirus (CMV) strain AD169. A 92,000-Da species, possibly a biosynthetic intermediate, was also detectable. One of the monoclonal antibodies, 15D8, neutralized CMV AD169 only in the presence of guinea pig complement. A second monoclonal antibody, 14E10, coimmunoprecipitated the 130,000- and 55,000-Da polypeptides but did not neutralize viral infectivity. By sequential immunoprecipitation, both monoclonal antibodies have been shown to recognize the same polypeptides. Monoclonal antibody 15D8 detected the 130,000- and 55,000-Da polypeptides in five of six clinical strains and three laboratory strains tested. The 14E10 monoclonal antibody detected the 130,000-Da protein in four of six CMV clinical isolates and in strain AD169 but did not immunoprecipitate any polypeptides from extracts of cells infected with either Towne or Davis laboratory strains. In kinetic studies, the synthesis of the 130,000-Da polypeptide preceded the appearance of the 55,000-Da polypeptide. In infected cells radiolabeled with a pulse of L-[35S]methionine, the isotope was initially detected in the 130,000-Da polypeptide but could be chased into the 55,000-Da polypeptide. These polypeptides exist in the intracellular and extracellular virus as disulfide-linked multimers. Extracellular virus contained a high-molecular-weight (greater than 200,000 Da) multimer composed entirely of 55,000-Da polypeptides. In extracts from infected cells an additional high-molecular-weight multimer was detected consisting of disulfide-linked 130,000-Da polypeptides.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Intestinal permeability changes and excretion of micro-organisms in stools of infants with diarrhoea and vomiting.

The relation between diarrhoea and vomiting, the excretion of stool micro-organisms, and the passive intestinal permeability in 20 infants living in a deprived urban area was studied prospectively from birth to age 6 months. Intestinal permeability was measured from the ratio of lactulose to mannitol recovered in the urine of infants receiving feeds containing both markers. Micro-organism excretion was found to occur in both the presence and absence of gastrointestinal symptoms, but a significantly higher mean intestinal permeability was recorded in those infants with symptoms and organisms in the stool than in those with neither. An increased intestinal permeability may be a sign of mucosal damage by intestinal micro-organisms.

Diarrhea, Infantile↗

A17: a broad-field amacrine cell in the rod system of the cat retina.

A17 amacrine cells of the cat retina have been penetrated with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-filled microelectrodes and their light responses recorded. These cells depolarize in sustained fashion to steps of light. Viewed in retinal wholemounts, HRP-injected cells have a spokelike radiating splay of very fine dendrites (0.1 micron diam) passing diffusely through all strata of the inner plexiform layer (IPL) to run primarily in strata 4 and 5. There are as many as 1,000 large, regularly spaced beads borne on the 500- to 1,200-micron diameter dendritic field. Cell body sizes range from 9 to 13 micron. In the electron microscope, the dendritic beads in sublamina b of the IPL are seen to synapse reciprocally with rod bipolar axon terminals. Dendritic beads in sublamina a rarely make synapses, but between the beads in this layer, input from at least three distinctive amacrine profiles occurs. Though diffuse at the light microscopic level, A17 thus appears to be structurally bistratified, with amacrine input in sublamina a and bipolar input in sublamina b. It is likely that A17 can be identified with AI. A17 signals are driven almost exclusively by rods. The spectral sensitivity peaks at 507 nm, identical with that of pigment epithelial cells. Light adaptation abolishes all but a small hyperpolarizing component of the signal. The overall intensity-response range is similar to that of AII amacrine cells. When receptive fields of A17 cells are mapped with slit stimuli, a broad, single-component curve is measured approximately covering the dendritic field. The receptive field is well described by a linear electrical model with a mean space constant of 259 +/- 97 micron (SD). On the other hand, responses to centered slit stimuli of varying width yielded space constants of only 38 +/- 29 micron. A17 amacrines are thus broad-field components of the cat's rod system but with very little capacity for spatial integration. Receptive-field measurements are not supportive of the notion of isolated dendritic regions.

Animals↗

A new tube for simultaneous gastric decompression and jejunal alimentation.

A new tube has been devised for simultaneous gastric decompression and jejunal enteral alimentation. The tube is inserted by the nasogastric route intraoperatively. What differentiates this from earlier tubes is the addition of two inflatable balloons that facilitate passage of the tip of the tube through the retroperitoneal duodenum and into the proximal jejunum. Such a device is needed because the advantages of enteral alimentation in the postoperative patient include safety, low cost and significant metabolic benefits.

Enteral Nutrition↗

Dopamine-containing amacrine cells of rhesus monkey retina parallel rods in spatial distribution.

Dopamine-containing amacrine cells of rhesus monkey were found everywhere outside of the foveola in whole, flat retinas by the formaldehyde-glutaraldehyde fluorescent method. There were about 7500 such cells in a single retina and their density, determined by cell counts and measured by a nearest neighbor method, was minimal in foveal and peripheral regions and maximal at 3 mm from the center of the fovea. Compared to density distributions of other retinal neuron types, dopamine-containing amacrine cells correlated only with rods, which also had a peak density at 3 mm eccentricity. Cones and ganglion cells peaked in the foveal pit, or within 1 mm of it, respectively. As the distribution of dopamine-containing cells followed that of rods, it is suggested that dopamine could be involved in the rod neuronal circuitry of primates.

Animals↗

Positive direct antiglobulin tests and immune hemolytic anemia in patients receiving procainamide.

To characterize the autoimmune phenomena in patients receiving procainamide, we studied the prevalence of positive direct antiglobulin (Coombs') tests and immune hemolytic anemia in 100 such patients and compared them with 100 age-matched and sex-matched controls. There was a significant increase in the frequency of positive direct antiglobulin tests in patients receiving procainamide (21 vs. 10 per cent, P = 0.05). The mechanism of red-cell sensitization in patients receiving procainamide was the production of red-cell autoantibody, which was serologically indistinguishable from that seen in warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia. In contrast, positive direct antiglobulin tests in control patients were due to the presence of complement components. Red-cell autoantibody production secondary to procainamide was not correlated with a higher-than-expected frequency of antinuclear antibodies or the clinical syndrome of drug-induced lupus erythematosus. In the series of 100 patients receiving procainamide, we identified three cases of immune hemolytic anemia. In two of the three cases, the anemia resolved after the medication was discontinued and did not require steroid therapy. We conclude that procainamide often results in the production of red-cell autoimmune phenomena.

Aged↗

Interstitial nucleus of Cajal (INC) projections to the region of Probst's tract.

These studies were designed to investigate projections of the interstitial nucleus of Cajal (INC) to the region of the contralateral Probst's tract (PrTr). In electrophysiological experiments, INC neurons were antidromically activated from the contralateral PrTr, the medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) at medullary levels and the MLF at spinal cord levels. Some INC cells could be antidromically activated only from PrTr and others from both PrTr and the MLF. Anatomical experiments confirmed the existence of an INC projection into the region of the contralateral PrTr. Following injections of fluorescent dyes into the PrTr area, retrogradely labeled neurons were observed in the contralateral INC, with only occasional labeling ipsilaterally. Injections which included the medial vestibular nucleus labeled a greater number of INC cells ipsilaterally. After injections of dyes into the medullary MLF, retrogradely labeled cells were observed bilaterally in INC, although in greater numbers ipsilaterally. In experiments in which different dyes were injected into PrTr and the MLF, double labeled cells were found in the contralateral INC.

Animals↗

The association of extrahepatic bile duct atresia and neonatal Epstein-Barr virus infection.

An infant with uncorrectable extrahepatic bile duct atresia was found to have evidence of Epstein-Barr virus infection during the neonatal period. It is probable that the infection was acquired in utero. In view of the association of hepatitis with the Epstein-Barr virus in later life, it is possible that this infection was responsible for the development of bile duct obstruction.

Antibodies, Viral↗

Intestinal permeability in the newborn.

Passive intestinal permeability in 33 newborn babies was studied using feeds containing lactulose and mannitol. Each marker is thought to pass across the gut wall by a different route; lactulose by a paracellular and mannitol by a transcellular pathway. Neither is metabolised and both are wholly and solely excreted by the kidney; urinary recovery is a measure of the intestinal uptake. Babies born before 34 weeks' gestation exhibited a higher intestinal permeability to lactulose than more mature babies, and all preterm babies showed an appreciable decline in lactulose absorption during the first week of oral feeds. Babies of 34 to 37 weeks' gestation achieved a 'mature' intestinal permeability to lactulose within four days of starting oral feeds. These findings may reflect the immaturity of the gut of the preterm baby rather than a process essential to adaptation to enteral nutrition.

Gestational Age↗

Enhanced intestinal permeability in preterm babies with bloody stools.

During a study of the intestinal permeability of newborn babies, three exhibited a sudden increase in lactulose absorption in association with the passage of bloody stools. An enhanced intestinal permeability may be an expression of the disruption of mucosal integrity in necrotising enterocolitis.

Humans↗

Amacrine cells in scotopic vision.

Signals from rod bipolar cells of cat retina are processed by a variety of rod amacrine cells before finally arriving at ganglion cells. Three of these rod amacrine cells (AII, A13, and A17 ) have been studied at the physiological and anatomical levels; the results suggest that each carries out a unique visual function: AII cells appear to quicken the response time of the rod system in the mid-scotopic range, while A17 cells may increase the light-gathering area of rod bipolars near visual threshold. Stimulation of A13 cells may disinhibit ganglion cells, thus heightening their responsiveness at low levels of illumination.

Animals↗

Intracellular recordings from a biplexiform ganglion cell in macaque retina, stained with horseradish peroxidase.

A biplexiform ganglion cell, which is characterized by dendritic contacts with rods, has been penetrated with an HRP-filled microelectrode in the retina of Macaca fascicularis. Its fine curvy axon could be traced to the optic disc. One of several dendritic processes ascended through all retinal layers and ended in the layer of rod spherules. Under all conditions of chromatic adaption, the cell produced depolarizing responses with a rapid onset and a slow decay. Besides a strong rod input the recordings indicate signals from at least two spectrally different cone mechanisms.

Animals↗

Rhytidectomy in male patients.

We have reviewed the face lifting procedures performed in twenty-seven of our male patients performed during the years, 1979-1980. Their pre-operative and post-operative appearances have been carefully analyzed as to the best method of treatment as well as the risks and complications of these operations. This discussion includes an explanation of our current operative techniques for male face lifting.

Dermatologic Surgical Procedures↗

York Mason procedure for repair of postoperative rectoprostatic urethral fistula.

Rectoprostatic fistula is a rare complication after transurethral resection of the prostate or prostatectomy for benign and malignant neoplasms of the prostate. Repair of these fistulas is difficult, especially when previous treatment includes radiation therapy to the prostate. Various operative approaches have been described to close these inaccessible fistulas. Because of their location near the outlet of the pelvis, access to or exposure of these fistulas is quite limited. These fistulas can be easily exposed and repaired through the posterior wall of the rectum (transsphincteric approach). Three patients with rectoprostatic urethral fistulas were repaired successfully by using this method.

Aged↗

Synaptic patterns and response properties of bipolar and ganglion cells in the cat retina.

After intracellular recording, bipolar cells of the cat retina have been stained with HRP and their contacts in the outer and inner plexiform layers examined by electron microscopy. Rod bipolars and cone bipolar cb6 make invaginating, ribbon related contacts with photoreceptors, hyperpolarize in response to light, and have axons terminating in layer b of the IPL. The axon terminal of cb2 ends in layer a of the IPL and its basal contacts with cones mediate hyperpolarizing light-responses. Cone bipolar cb5 is a center-depolarizing type with an axon ending in layer b but its cone contacts are at semi-invaginating basal junctions. Except for the amacrine-contacting rod bipolar cell, all cone bipolar types synapse with both amacrine and ganglion cells in the inner plexiform layer. In addition cb5 contacts AII amacrine cells with large gap junctions, and is physiologically rod dominated.

Animals↗

Rod pathways in the retina of the cat.

Neurons involved in the transfer of rod signals to the ganglion cells in the retina of the cat have been recorded from and stained with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and their synaptic connections determined by electron microscopy. The single morphological type of rod bipolar cell responds with a sustained hyperpolarization to light and in turn drives at least five morphologically different types of amacrine cells, each of which has a unique response pattern. Two amacrines respond with either a transient (AII) or a sustained (A17) depolarization to light, while three amacrines give transient (A8) or sustained (A6, A13) hyperpolarizations. Circuitry whereby rod signals reach both on-centre and off-centre ganglion cells is discussed.

Animals↗