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Biomedical subjects

S C Ho

Publications and source records attributed to S C Ho.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Health and social predictors of mortality in an elderly Chinese cohort.

A total of 1,054 Hong Kong Chinese subjects aged 70 years or over were recruited into a cohort study to investigate the relation between social support and health outcomes. More than 30 social, health, and behavioral characteristics were recorded as baseline information when the study began in 1985. Mortality data were obtained during a 2-year follow-up. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the roles of these variables in predicting mortality. The mortality patterns of Hong Kong and of the studied cohort closely resemble that of Western developed countries with cancer, heart disease, and cerebrovascular diseases as the leading causes of death. Besides sex and place of residence (whether living in the community or in homes for the elderly), the independent predictors of mortality included five baseline variables: being single or widowed, limited ability in activities of daily living, smoking habit, low body mass index, and poor self-evaluated health status. Subjects with at least three of these predictors had a relative risk of 3.9 (95% confidence interval 2.4-6.2) compared with those with zero to two of these characteristics.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

A comparison of the nutritional status of elderly Chinese living in different types of non-acute care institutions in Hong Kong.

The nutritional status of 191 elderly subjects living in three types of non-acute care institutions was studied by estimating nutrient intake and biochemical status. The dietary intake of women in the long-stay institution was similar to that of free-living elderly subjects. Dietary consumption of subjects living in a private nursing home and a convalescent unit were poorer than for elderly free-living subjects. Elderly women in all institutions had a poorer protein nutritional status, a poorer biochemical status of vitamin B12, folate, ascorbic acid, and vitamin D, and lower plasma potassium levels when compared with free-living elderly women. Those in the private nursing home and the convalescent unit had the poorest protein nutritional status. Among men, institutionalized subjects were observed to have poorer thiamine and riboflavine status, in addition to the above findings. The greater prevalence of chronic diseases and disability in the convalescent unit and the private nursing home may partly account for the poorer nutritional status of residents in these two institutions.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

[Combined CA-125 test and ultrasonography in the presurgical evaluation of ovarian mass].

Clinicians are urgently searching for ways of differentiating a malignant from a benign ovarian mass. How to approach or what is the prognosis? Some have shown the CA-125 test combined with ultrasonography to be highly sensitive and specific, when compared to single parameter. We examined 238 patients who underwent laparotomy for adnexal mass. Of these 44 were found to suffer from malignant tumors and 194 from benign lesions. Before the operation, CA-125 level was measured; pelvic ultrasonography was performed on each patient and the sonographic data were evaluated on an echostructural scoring system. After a sophisticated computer assisted analysis, the results of the combined tests were CA-125 greater than or equal to 65 U/ml or US score greater than or equal to 8 with a sensitivity of 77.3%, a specificity of 81.4% and a diagnostic accuracy of 80.7%. Therefore we confirm that CA-125 may be considered as a useful adjunct to sonography in the differential diagnosis of adnexal mass.

Antigens, Tumor-Associated, Carbohydrate↗
PubMed1990

Isolation and characterization of one isoform of actin from cultured soybean cells.

Cultured soybean cells (SB-1 cell line) were plasmolyzed and lyophilized. Extraction of the dried powder and fractionation yielded a polypeptide with the following key properties: (a) it has a molecular weight of approximately 45,000 and an isoelectric point of approximately 5.9; (b) it is immunologically cross-reactive with rabbit antibodies affinity purified against the Mr 45,000 polypeptide of calf thymus actin; (c) it is eluted from a DEAE-cellulose column at the same ionic strength as Acanthamoeba actin; (d) it yields peptide maps, after limited proteolysis with V8 protease, similar if not identical to those of rabbit muscle actin; and (e) it binds specifically to deoxyribonuclease I. These molecular and binding properties indicate that we have purified one isoform of actin from soybean cells.

Actins↗
PubMed1990

Carbohydrate binding activities of Bradyrhizobium japonicum. I. Saccharide-specific inhibition of homotypic and heterotypic adhesion.

Bradyrhizobium japonicum (R110d) exhibited four saccharide-specific binding activities: (a) adsorption to Sepharose beads containing covalently coupled lactose; (b) homotypic agglutination through one pole of the cell (star formation); (c) heterotypic adhesion to the cultured soybean cell line, SB-1; and (d) attachment to roots of soybean plants. Each of these binding activities can be inhibited by the addition of galactose or lactose, but not by derivatives such as N-acetyl-D-galactosamine or melibiose. Treatment of wild-type bacteria with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine followed by selection on the basis of reduced binding to SB-1 cells, resulted in two specific mutants, designated N4 and N6. Compared to wild type, these two mutants also exhibited decreased binding activity in: (a) adsorption to lactose-Sepharose beads; (b) homotypic star formation; and (c) heterotypic attachment to roots of soybeans plants. These results suggest that all four of the saccharide-inhibitable binding activities of Bradyrhizobium japonicum may be mediated by the same mechanism(s) or molecular component(s).

Agglutination↗
PubMed1990

Carbohydrate binding activities of Bradyrhizobium japonicum. II. Isolation and characterization of a galactose-specific lectin.

Extracts of Bradyrhizobium japonicum were fractionated on Sepharose columns covalently derivatized with lactose. Elution of the material that was specifically bound to the affinity column with lactose yielded a protein of Mr approximately 38,000. Isoelectric focusing of this sample yielded two spots with pI values of 6.4 and 6.8. This protein specifically bound to galactose-containing glycoconjugates, but did not bind either to glucose or mannose. Derivatives of galactose at the C-2 position showed much weaker binding; there was an 18-fold difference in the relative binding affinities of galactose versus N-acetyl-D-galactosamine. These results indicate that we have purified a newly identified carbohydrate-binding protein from Bradyrhizobium japonicum, that can exquisitely distinguish galactose from its derivatives at the C-2 position.

Binding, Competitive↗
PubMed1990

Prevalence of cataract among the institutionalized elderly in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong 1981 Census found a high prevalence of blindness in the age group aged 65 and above. Visual defects short of blindness are also a special problem among the elderly and cataract is one of the most important causes. We have studied the prevalence of cataract among 546 subjects living in homes or hostels for the aged in a New Town in Hong Kong. Cataract was defined as having a lens opacity and visual acuity worse than 20/100 in either eye. A prevalence of 45% among men and 32% among women was found. There was significant difference in prevalence between men and women aged below 75 but little sex difference was noted for the older age groups. Among the cataract cases detected on screening, about half had not had the diagnosis made previously. The results confirm the need for more epidemiological and health care studies on the visual problems among the aged.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

O-antigen from Bradyrhizobium japonicum lipopolysaccharide inhibits intercellular (symplast) communication between soybean (Glycine max) cells.

The technique of fluorescence redistribution after photobleaching was utilized to measure intercellular movement of low molecular weight fluorescent hydrophilic substances across the cell wall/membrane interface between contiguous soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Mandarin) root cells (SB-1 cell line) in tissue culture. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) purified from Bradyrhizobium japonicum R110d, a Gram-negative bacterium that normally infects and induces nodulation in soybean roots in vivo, inhibits intercellular communication between the soybean cells in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, LPS from noninfecting strains failed to yield the same effect. The inhibitory activity of the LPS was localized to the O-antigen region of the LPS.

Antigens, Bacterial↗
PubMed1989

Risk factors in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in elderly Chinese in Hong Kong.

The early life environment, 24 h nutrient intake, body mass index, blood pressure and plasma zinc levels among 42 non-insulin dependent diabetic subjects living in sheltered housing were compared to 126 age and sex matched controls from the same community. A high body mass index and systolic blood pressure were the only risk factors. The association with systolic blood pressure was present only among non-obese subjects. No difference in nutrient intake was found. When nutrient intake from all 427 subjects living in sheltered housing was compared to other countries with a higher prevalence of NIDDM, the diet of Chinese subjects consisted of a lower percentage of fat calories and a higher percentage of protein and carbohydrate calories.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Reproductive and sexual risk factors and human papilloma virus infection in cervical cancer among Hong Kong Chinese.

In this case-control study of cervical neoplasia in Hong Kong, 48 dysplasia and 68 cancer patients were matched with 116 surgical in-patient controls. The cases had an earlier age at first intercourse and more sex partners than the controls. The cases' husbands also had more sex partners and were less likely to use condoms regularly. In a multiple regression model the odds ratio were 6.0 (95% Confidence Interval 2.5-14.6) for the husband having more than one sex partner, 4.0 (1.5-10.7) for the woman having more than one sex partner, and 1.15 (1.05-1.28) per year younger for the woman's age at first intercourse. The odds ratio of 5.4 for women whose partners did not habitually use condoms was not significantly different from 1.0. In a sub-sample, 37% of cancer patients and 18% of dysplasia patients, but only 6% of gynaecological controls, showed a positive DNA hybridization to Human Papilloma Virus (Type 16). These findings suggest that cervical cancer and dysplasia are sexually transmitted in our population, with a possible viral aetiology.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Epidemiologic study of Parkinson's disease in Hong Kong.

In our cross-sectional survey of the residents of homes for the elderly in 2 Hong Kong districts--Shatin and Tai Po--we found that 3.4% of the subjects had Parkinson's disease (PD). There was no sex difference in the disease rate. We also conducted a case-control study to determine the associated factors of PD. We found that subjects with residence of long duration in rural areas, with engagement in farming, with previous use of herbicides and pesticides, and with habitual consumption of raw vegetables had a statistically significantly increased risk of PD. This study tends to support the hypothesis that environmental factors directly or indirectly related to agricultural activities are associated with the development of PD.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Hematological indices and the prevalence of anemia in an elderly Chinese population.

Hematological indices were determined in a group of 427 elderly Chinese subjects over 60 years old; reference ranges were established after excluding subjects with hemoglobinopathies or diseases giving rise to anemia and those with values less or greater than 3 SD from the mean. The values were similar to those for elderly Caucasians. All the red cell indices were significantly higher in men than women, possibly reflecting the influence of androgens on bone marrow function. Previously reported age-related decline in hemoglobin, red cell count and hematocrit from studies of all age groups was not seen in men or women above age 60 years, but a fall in platelet count with age, which had not been previously reported, was observed. There were no age-related changes in any other indices. Reference ranges were lower for Hb, MCV, and MCH in men and women, compared to those derived from a study of Chinese of all age groups. The prevalence of anemia due to disease and hemoglobinpathies in this population was 6.4% in men and 6.3% in women.

Aged↗
PubMed1989

Some biochemical indices of bone turnover in elderly Chinese.

Biochemical indices of bone turnover were determined in a cluster sample of 427 apparently healthy elderly subjects aged 60 years and over. Plasma calcium concentrations corrected for albumin were not significantly different between elderly men and women, but were higher compared with values in younger Chinese of the same sex. The prevalence of hypercalcemia (greater than 2.75 mmol/L) in the elderly (0.2%) was lower than in Caucasian populations. Plasma phosphate concentrations were higher in women, but lower than in young adults. Plasma alkaline phosphatase activity was higher in women compared with values for men, and higher compared with values for young adults. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D was lower in elderly women than elderly men, but was similar to values in younger subjects. Urinary calcium: creatinine and hydroxyproline: creatinine ratios were higher in women. The values were comparable to those for Caucasian postmenopausal women, suggesting that Chinese elderly subjects had similar bone turnover rates.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Nutritional status of healthy, active, Chinese elderly.

1. Anthropometric indices are presented for 402 healthy Chinese elderly subjects leading an active life in the community in Hong Kong. 2. Women had higher body-mass index (weight/height) and body fat, while fat-free mass, arm-muscle circumference and corrected arm-muscle area were higher in men. Body-mass index, fat-free mass, arm-muscle circumference and corrected arm-muscle area did not decline with age. Total body fat was lower in women aged 75 years and above compared with those aged 60-64 years. 3. All values were lower than those for elderly Caucasians. A different criteria for severe wasting malnutrition among elderly Chinese should be established.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Quantitative assay for binding of Bradyrhizobium japonicum to cultured soybean cells.

Incubation of Bradyrhizobium japonicum with the cultured soybean cell line SB-1 resulted in the adhesion of the bacteria to the plant cells. An antiserum was raised against B. japonicum, and the 125I-labeled immunoglobulin fraction was used to quantitate the number of bacteria bound to the soybean cells. The measurement of 125I-labeled antibody binding correlated well with parallel assays by microscopic observation. Using this quantitation, we have optimized the parameters of the assay in terms of time course, ratio of B. japonicum to SB-1 cells, and pH. We then explored the effects of saccharides, NaCl, EDTA, and culture age of the bacteria and SB-1 cells on B. japonicum binding under these optimal assay conditions. The results showed good correlation between conditions that govern B. japonicum binding to SB-1 cells in culture and those that regulate B. japonicum-induced nodulation in legume roots. Together, they suggest that this binding event may be important in controlling host specificity.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗
PubMed1988

Psychosomatic symptoms, social support and self worth among the elderly in Hong Kong.

A prospective study to test the relationship between social support and health outcomes among the 1000 elderly Chinese subjects aged 70+ is being carried out in a Hong Kong New Town. This paper reports on the study factors related to psychosomatic complaints based on the first phase cross sectional data. Logistic regression analysis shows that being female, living in institutions, having a low level of social support and a low level of self worth independently increased the risk of developing a high level of psychosomatic symptoms. The relative risks for these factors range from 1.4 to 1.9 and all were significantly different from unity.

Aged↗