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Biomedical subjects

S J Baker

Publications and source records attributed to S J Baker.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Studies in iron supplementation of preschool children.

1. The effect of daily supplements of 20-30 mg inorganic iron as ferrous sulphate on the growth, activity and haematological status of preschool children was studied for 3.5, 7 and 12 months and compared to that of children who served as controls. All children were given their daily requirements of energy and protein. In addition, they received 5 microgram cyanocobalamin and 200 microgram folic acid. 2. Fe supplementation increased the haemoglobin, serum Fe and percentage saturation of transferrin and reduced the unsaturated Fe-binding capacity significantly compared to corresponding values for the controls. 3. Height and activity were unaffected by Fe supplements. 4. Of the children 45% had haemoglobin values below 110 g/l at the end of 7-12 months of Fe supplementation.

Body Height↗
PubMed1978

Faecal flora of South Indian infants and young children in health and with acute gastroenteritis.

The faecal flora of 29 healthy infants and young children was compared with that of 49 children of similar age and socio-ecomonic status with acute gastroenteritis. In the healthy children the most common organisms in the faeces were bifidobacteria, veillonellae, enterobacteria and enterodocci with anaerobes outnumbering aerobes. Most members of the noraml faecal flora were present in the diarrhoeal stools, but anaerobes were signigicantly reduced in number and enterobacteria were significantly increased, thereby altering the ratio of anaerobes to aerobes. The alterations in the flora were not related to the nature of the aetiological agent or to the severity of the diarrhoea. The changes appeared to be a direct result of the altered colonic environment produced by the diarrhoeal state. In 13 of the 28 patients from whom bacterial pathogens were isolated, the pathogens were the predominant faecal organsims.

Actinomycetaceae↗
PubMed1978

Jejunal microbial flora of southern indian infants in health and with acute gastroenteritis.

The microbial flora of the jejunal lumen of 28 infants with acute gastroenteritis was compared with that of a group of 10 normal infants. The jejunum of control subjects harboured an "oral" type of flora and in a few instances enterobacteria in small numbers. The concentrations of all but one of the groups of organism were higher in the patients than in controls, and the differences were of statistical significance for enterobacteria and lactobacilli. In eight subjects, the same pathogen was identified in the jejunum and the stool. In six subjects with rotavirus infection, there were almost no Gram-negative aerobic rods in the jejunum. The possible role of other Gram-negative aerobic rods in producing gastroenteritis is discussed. It is suggested that studies of jejunal flora are of considerable importance in assigning an aetiological role to bacteria in the causation of acute gastroenteritis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1978

Nutritional anaemia--a major controllable public health problem.

Nutritional anaemia, due chiefly to iron deficiency, is widely prevalent in many parts of the world. There is increasing evidence that even mild anaemia affects health and reduces productivity and that a high prevalence of anaemia has profound socioeconomic consequences. The pathogenesis of nutritional anaemia is now reasonably well understood. Measures avilable for combating it include: therapeutic supplementation for accessible population groups with a high prevalence of anaemia, such as pregnant women and schoolchildren; iron fortification of one or more widely consumed foodstuffs; management of those conditions, such as hookworm infestation, that increase requirements for haemopoietic nutrients; and education of the public, and of all categories of health personnel, regarding the importance of anaemia and the ways of controlling it. Experience has shown that there is no simple solution to the problem and in each area where iron deficiency anaemia is prevalent it will probably be necessary to develop and combine many or all of these measures. In each community it will be necessary to introduce these measures so that their effectiveness can first be studied in a pilot trial. When this has been successfully completed it should be followed by a field trial under realistic conditions, and only when this has proved successful should a regional or national programme be introduced. However, the problem is complex and it is only by sustained effort of all concerned that it will prove possible to develop adequate public health control of nutritional anaemia.

Allied Health Personnel↗
PubMed1977

Aetiology of acute gastroenteritis in infancy and early childhood in southern India.

The aetiology of acute gastroenteritis was studied in 50 infants and young children. Bacterial pathogens were isolated in 33, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), Salmonella, and Shigella being the commonest isolates. Rotaviruses were detected in the stools of 13 of the cases. All children with gastroenteritis in whom rotavirus was detected were seen during the months July to December. In 30 children who served as controls, EPEC were isolated in 6, but rotavirus was detected in none. It is concluded that infection with rotaviruses is a significant cause of morbidity in children with gastroenteritis in southern India.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1977

Intestinal perfusion studies in tropical sprue. 2. Movement of water and electrolytes.

Jejunal absorption of sodium and water has been investigated in 10 normal Indians and 11 patients with chronic tropical sprue. Normal saline and solutions containing amino acids and dipeptides were studied. In both groups little absorption of sodium and water from normal saline was seen. Mean water and sodium absorption from the free amino acid or dipeptide solutions showed no significant difference between the groups and was similar to absorption from normal saline. These results differ from data obtained in normal English subjects where at these concentrations significant stimulation of sodium and water absorption was seen. In a proportion of subjects in both groups net secretion was observed. However, no correlation was seen between mucosal histology or luminal bacteriology and sodium or water movement. These findings in patients with chronic tropical sprue are similar to findings in normal Indians and suggest that jejunal handling of sodium and water is abnormal when compared with normal English subjects, but that the mucosa is not in a secretory phase as seen in certain other diarrhoeal states or in the acute early phase of sprue.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1976

Intestinal absorption in normal Indian and English people.

The absorption of glycine, glycylglycine, water, and electrolytes was studied by intestinal perfusion in normal Indian and English people. Compared with the English people the Indians showed impaired absorption of all four substances. In the Indians the absorption of glycine and glycylglycine was impaired to the same extent, so that the kinetic advantage of glycylglycine as compared with glycine was preserved. The reduced absorption in the Indians may be the functional counterpart of the minor morphological changes seen in the jejunal mucosa of people living in southern India.

England↗
PubMed1976

Intestinal perfusion studies in tropical sprue. 1. Amino acid and dipeptide absorption.

Intestinal absorption of glycine 20 mmol/1, glycyl-glycine 10 mmol/1 plus L-leucine 10 mmol/1, and glycyl-L-leucine 10 mmol/1 has been studied by intestinal perfusion in 11 patients with tropical sprue and 10 control subjects. The patients with sprue had a significant reduction in the rate of absorption of glycine from a 20 mmol/1 solution, but there were no significant differences in the absorption of the other substances. The failure to demonstrate any difference in the absorption of these substances is probably related to their low concentration relative to the maximum absorptive capacity of the intestine. In both groups of subjects the kinetic advantage of glycyl-glycine absorption as compared with glycine absorption was maintained. When the dipeptides were perfused, free amino acids appeared in the perfusate presumably by "back diffusion" from the mucosal cells. In the case of glycyl-L-leucine considerably more glycine and leucine were found in the perfusate in patients with sprue than in the control subjects. There was no correlation between peptide absorption and the concentration of total glycly-glycine hydrolase and glycyl-L-leucine hydrolase, measured as combined brush border and cytosol enzymes. The concentrations of these enzymes were similar in both groups of subjects.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1976

The effects of alterations in villus shape on the intestinal mucosal surface of the albino rat; the relationship between mucosal surface area and the crypts.

The villi and crypts of the small intestine of the albino rat (Rattus norvigicus) have been enumerated and measured at different ages from 2 weeks to 8 months. The number of villi increased up to the third month of age and the number of crypts up to the eighth month. In the proximal intestine, the mean length of the villus base increased up to the fifth month as ridge-shaped villi were formed. Villus height was greater proximally than distally and this, and the crypt depth, remained constant from the end of the first month of age. The total villus circumference per unit area of intestine, and the villus circumference per crypt was the same proximally and distally, and was relatively constant after the first month of age. The total circumference of the crypt mouths per square millimeter of intestine was the same proximally and distally and, at all ages, was greater than the total villus circumference. The villus surface area per square millimeter of intestine, or per crypt, remained relatively constant after the first month and was greater proximally than distally, due only to the taller villi proximally. The change from finger-shaped to ridge-shaped villi did not affect the villus mucosal surface area. The changes in villus shape are probably not determined by differences in the rate of crypt cell production.

Aging↗
PubMed1976

Free intrinsic factor in the small intestine in man.

Human jejunal and ileal contents and ileostomy effluents were examined for the presence of free intrinsic factor. This was detected in 9 out of 10 jejunal and three out of five ileal aspirates and in one of three ileostomy effluents studied. The intrinsic factor in the ileal effluent was shown to be physiologically active. The presence of free intrinsic factor in the small intestine has considerable physiological significance in maintaining the enterophepatic circulation of vitamin B12. It would also permit the absorption of any free vitamin B12 produced by ileal bacteria.

Body Fluids↗
PubMed1976

Subclinical intestinal malabsorption in developing countries.

Asymptomatic small intestinal disease characterized by abnormalities of structure and function has been reported from many developing countries. Abnormalities of structure include changes in villus architecture and in appearance under both the light and the electron microscope. Changes in function include abnormalities in the absorption of xylose, fat, vitamin B(12), amino acids, and dipeptides and excessive faecal losses of nitrogen and energy. The etiology of the condition is unknown but appears to be closely related to exposure to the environment. The nutritional consequences of this condition have not been fully explored but for people living on marginally sufficient dietary intakes they may be extremely important.

Anemia, Hypochromic↗
PubMed1975

Enhancement of acquistion and performance of level-pressing behavior in rats by an experimental diet.

Rats given diets containing jack bean had superior performance during learning and testing of level pressing compared with rats given control diets. To evaluate the factors which might have contributed to the differences in their performance, the testing conditions, testing schedules, and the reinforcement were varied. The results strongly suggested that the rate of learning depended largely on factors inherent within the individual animals. The rats preferred the reinforcement, Noyes pellets, to diets containing jack bean. Therefore the superior performance of rats given diets containing jack bean could be, to a certain extent, due to their motivation to lever press for Noyes pellets. However, there was also evidence suggesting that other factors in jack bean enhanced the behavioral performance of rats when water droplets were used as the reinforcement.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1975

Differences in developing the lever-pressing behavior in two strains of rats.

Learning to lever-press for food in rats may be experimentally analyzed according to (a) association of lever-pressing with food reinforcement; (b) development of the behavior of lever-pressing. The latter was studied in two strains of rats with a high or low level of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) in erythrocytes. Twelve males from each strain, previously trained to lever-press, were used. The rate of responding increased faster with repeated training-testing sessions in the High Strain than in the Low-Strain under the CRF and the FR 10 schedule. The genetic difference in the DPG level in erythrocytes and the resultant long term difference in oxygen transport capability may be a significant factor contributing to the behavioral differences in these two strains.

Animals↗