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Biomedical subjects

S King

Publications and source records attributed to S King.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

In ovo vaccination technology.

More than 80% of the U.S. broiler industry has converted to the in ovo vaccination process for control of Marek's disease. Providing certain criteria are met, including timing and site of vaccine placement, vaccine mixing, machine sanitization, and hatchery management specifications, this has proven to be an efficacious and convenient method of vaccination. Efforts to extend the technology for other viral vaccines including Newcastle, bronchitis and bursal disease, and bacterial and parasitic vaccines are in progress. Collectively, these studies demonstrate that in ovo vaccination technology using approved vaccine is a safe, efficacious, and convenient method for vaccination of poultry.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Genetic discrimination in life insurance: empirical evidence from a cross sectional survey of genetic support groups in the United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVES: To gather empirical evidence on any discrimination based on genetic information shown by the insurance industry in the United Kingdom and to assess how society is likely to handle future genetic information from tests for polygenic multifactorial conditions. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire survey. SUBJECTS: Sample (n=7000) of members from seven British support groups for families with genetic disorders and a representative sample (n=1033) of the general public who answered questions on applying for life insurance as part of an omnibus survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Subjects were asked about their experiences with insurers, the medical profession, employers, and social services. Experiences with insurers are reported here. RESULTS: Altogether 33.4% of the study group had problems when applying for life insurance compared with 5% of applicants in the omnibus survey. Thirteen per cent of study respondents from subgroups who represented no adverse actuarial risk on genetic grounds reported that their treatment by insurers seemed to represent unjustified genetic discrimination. CONCLUSIONS: Life insurers may not be operating a consistent policy for assessing genetic information or acting in accord with the actuarial risks brought to them. The inconsistency suggests error rather than a corporate policy of discrimination based on genetic characteristics. Any future proposals for genetic testing for common or multifactorial disorders should be examined carefully.

Age of Onset↗
PubMed1998

Evidence-based guidelines for universal counselling and offering of HIV testing in pregnancy in Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To provide Canadian health care workers with evidence-based guidelines for universal counselling about HIV testing and the offering of such testing to all pregnant women. OPTIONS: Universal counselling and offering of HIV testing to all pregnant women versus targeted testing of only pregnant women at high risk for HIV infection. Antiretroviral treatment protocols for HIV-positive mothers and their infants are discussed as the intervention to reduce mother-to-child transmission rates. OUTCOMES: Main outcomes are mother-to-child HIV transmission rates and consequences of HIV testing on the mother and infant. EVIDENCE: Articles published from January 1985 to March 1997 identified through a MEDLINE search; articles published in pertinent medical journals in 1996 and 1997 identified through a manual search; and abstracts presented at international HIV/AIDS conferences. BENEFITS, HARMS AND COSTS: Early diagnosis of HIV infection in a pregnant woman optimizes her medical and psychosocial care, decreases the incidence of mother-to-child transmission and decreases the risk of horizontal transmission to sexual partners. New, third-generation HIV tests have reduced false-positive rates and thus diminished the harm of screening. RECOMMENDATIONS: A screening strategy consisting of universal counselling and offering of HIV testing is recommended for all pregnant women in Canada (grade B recommendation). Targeted testing of only pregnant women at high risk for HIV infection fails to identify a substantial proportion of HIV-positive pregnant women and is therefore not recommended (grade D recommendation). Women who identify themselves as being at high risk and whose initial HIV test result is negative should be counselled about the reduction of high-risk behaviours and retested in 6 months (grade B recommendation). Treatment of seropositive women and infants with zidovudine to prevent mother-to-child transmission is recommended (grade A or B recommendation depending on gestational age and CD4 count). VALIDATION: These guidelines are endorsed by the Canadian Pediatric AIDS Research Group and are in agreement with the recommendations of the Canadian Paediatric Society and the US Public Health Service Task Force.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed1998

Laser wire for crossing chronic total occlusions: "learning phase" results from the U.S. TOTAL trial. Total Occlusion Trial With Angioplasty by Using a Laser Wire.

The Prima laser guidewire system (Spectranectics Corp., Colorado Springs, CO) consists of an 0.018" hypotube containing a bundle of 45-microm optical fibers coupled to a pulsed excimer laser operating at a tip fluence of 60 ml/mm2 and a repetition rate ranging from 25-40 Hz. This laser guidewire was specifically designed to cross total occlusions refractory to passage with conventional wires. The Prima wire was evaluated in a feasibility study at 15 U.S. centers. Following failure to cross a total occlusion with approved guidewires, the Prima wire was utilized in 179 patients. Average age of subjects was 61 yr. Lesion locations included left anterior descending (36%), right (45%), and circumflex (19%) coronary arteries. Mean angiographic age of total occlusions was 70 wk (range, 2-1,020 wk, median, 14 wk). The use of the Prima wire either solely or in combination with conventional guidewires resulted in successful crossing in 61% of these previously impenetrable occlusions. Failure of the device was commonly related to length of the occlusion and tortuosity along the occluded pathway. Major complications included myocardial infarction in 7 patients (3.9%), tamponade in 3 (1.7%), and death in 2 (1.1%). This "learning phase" pilot study confirmed the feasibility of a laser guidewire in chronic total occlusions that are resistant to passage of conventional guidewires. An extended registry at these investigative sites is planned.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Clinical characteristics of clear cell carcinoma of the ovary.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical characteristics of clear cell carcinoma of the ovary. METHODS: Between 1986 and 1996, 45 patients with clear cell carcinoma of the ovary were identified by scanning the medical records department and the tumor registry at our institution. RESULTS: Median age was 55 years (range 31-80 years). Tumors were 60% (27/45) stage I, 11% (5/45) stage II, 20% (9/45) stage III, and 9% (4/45) stage IV. All patients presented with a pelvic mass ranging in size from 2 x 3 to 20 x 30 cm and all except 1 had optimal cytoreduction. All patients received postoperative platinum-based chemotherapy, 47% (21/45) in combination with paclitaxel. One stage Ia patient refused therapy. Of the 6 stage III/IV patients with measurable residual tumor, 67% (4/6) partially responded to first line chemotherapy by CT scan or second look laparotomy. Recurrences occurred in 37% (10/27) stage I patients, including 18% (2/11) stage Ia, 33% (1/3) stage Ib, and 54% (7/13) stage Ic. Time to recurrence was 16 and 38 months for the two stage Ia patients and 35 months (median, range 18-56 months) for the stage Ic patients. Survival after recurrence was significantly related to disease-free interval after primary chemotherapy. With a median follow-up of 40 months (range 4-145 months), 93% (25/27) of stage I patients are alive, 20% (5/25) with disease, while 46% (6/13) of stage III/IV patients are alive. Median survival for the stage III/IV patients was 22 months (range 4-70 months). CONCLUSIONS: Clear cell tumors of ovary frequently present at early stages. However, these tumors have a propensity for recurrence even after primary chemotherapy in early stage tumors.

Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell↗
PubMed1998

The contribution of depression and denial towards understanding the unawareness of symptoms in schizophrenic out-patients.

OBJECTIVES: Unawareness of schizophrenic symptoms was postulated to be partially attributable to patients denying symptoms in order to avoid depression. METHOD: The 24-item version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) was administered to 41 schizophrenic patients (chart diagnoses were validated by a DSM-III-R checklist). The first 14 of these items were then used to gather information about patients' symptomatology from 55 relatives of patients. Unawareness of symptoms was calculated by subtracting patients' total for these 14 items from parents' totals. Two measures of depression were obtained. Subjective depression was the score on the depression item based on patients responses to interview questions, objective depression was the score based on interviews with relatives about their ill family member. Family functioning was also assessed by administering patients' relatives the Camberwell Family Interview and the FACES III. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that both subjective and objective measures of depression were significantly related to unawareness; subjective depression was negatively related, and objective depression was positively related. The employed measures of family functioning were unrelated to unawareness of symptomatology. CONCLUSION: This opposing pattern of subjective and objective depression was interpreted as evidence of the self-deception which characterizes all defence mechanisms including denial.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Enhanced antitumour effect of liposomal daunorubicin using antibody-phospholipase C conjugates or fusion protein.

We have developed a new two-step method for targeting cytotoxic drugs to tumour cells. The method firstly involves the binding to tumour cells of antibody-phospholipase C immunoconjugates or fusion proteins. Further to washing or clearance of the immunoconjugates, liposomes are introduced which are specifically lysed at the tumour site by PLC to release their cytotoxic contents in the vicinity of the tumour cells. For two alternative human cell lines, a synergistic inhibition of cell proliferation was seen for combined treatment with a specific immunoconjugate and daunorubicin encapsulated liposomes. For tumour xenografts in mice, the combined treatment resulted in an inhibition of tumour growth although with no eradication of tumours at the doses used. The two-step antibody-PLC/liposome approach offers broad possibilities for the precise delivery of payloads of cytotoxic drugs to tumour sites.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

English historical demography and the nuptiality conundrum: new perspectives.

"In the last decade, nuptiality has been placed at the centre of the English demographic regime in the long eighteenth-century. Proto-industrial areas in particular are increasingly seen to have experienced substantial decline in the female age at first marriage during this period, helping to fuel substantial population growth. This article uses family reconstitution and other data to question the uniformity of this experience and to suggest new avenues of interpretation rather than simply observation. For Calverley in West Yorkshire, England, female marriage ages remained stable throughout the proto-industrialisation process. More significantly, the distribution of marriage ages around the mean was much narrower than similar measures elsewhere. The article suggests that kinship, a deep sentimental and practical attachment to land, and an early retirement system lay behind this experience."

Demography↗
PubMed1998

Modification of the Bankart reconstruction using a suture anchor.

A prospective study was done to determine the effectiveness of a suture anchor in doing a Modified Bankart Reconstruction on the traumatic unidirectional Bankart lesion shoulder. From 1989 to 1991, 26 patients encompassing 27 shoulders with recurrent instability had modified Bankart reconstructions. A minimum 18-month follow-up was obtained by examination of 24 patients with telephone interviews done on two patients. The average follow-up was 23.6 months. A 93.1% good-to-excellent result was obtained using the Bankart rating scale. There were no failures or complications. The surgeon involved in the study thought the suture anchor facilitated the attachment of the avulsed capsulolabral complex in doing the Bankart procedure.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Tumor infarction in mice by antibody-directed targeting of tissue factor to tumor vasculature.

Selective occlusion of tumor vasculature was tested as a therapy for solid tumors in a mouse model. The formation of blood clots (thrombosis) within the tumor vessels was initiated by targeting the cell surface domain of human tissue factor, by means of a bispecific antibody, to an experimentally induced marker on tumor vascular endothelial cells. This truncated form of tissue factor (tTF) had limited ability to initiate thrombosis when free in the circulation, but became an effective and selective thrombogen when targeted to tumor endothelial cells. Intravenous administration of the antibody-tTF complex to mice with large neuroblastomas resulted in complete tumor regressions in 38 percent of the mice.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

A Candida albicans genome project: cosmid contigs, physical mapping, and gene isolation.

A new project to map the genome of the pathogenic fungus, Candida albicans, has been started. The entire genome was cloned as 5088 cosmids, stored in individual microtiter plate wells. DNA was prepared and fingerprinted using restriction digestion, fluorescent labeling, and analysis on an ABI sequencer. These data are being used to construct contigs of the genome. Simultaneously, a DNA pooling system has been set up, suitable for PCR-based isolation of cosmids containing any known gene. Ultimately, these approaches will lead to the creation of a physically based map of the C. albicans genome, providing the means to localize precisely all the genes, act as a substrate for genome sequencing projects, and provide probes for future studies of genome rearrangement and comparative genomics.

Candida albicans↗
PubMed1997

Muscle fibre type composition in infant and adult populations and relationships with obesity.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the fibre type composition of skeletal muscle in infants and young children and to compare the findings to an adult population. To relate the fibre type profile of skeletal muscle in adults to measures of adiposity. DESIGN: Cross-sectional studies of skeletal muscle fibre composition in infants and adults with measures of adiposity in the adults. SUBJECTS: 21 healthy infants and young children (age: 3-21 months) and 40 healthy adult Australian Caucasians (age: 26-62 y; BMI: 18-48 kg/m2). MEASUREMENTS: Skeletal muscle fibre type composition (by myosin ATPase method) and relative body fatness (BMI, waist circumference and waist/hip ratio (WHR)). RESULTS: Infants and young children had significantly lesser proportions of glycolytic Type 2b fibres (6.2 +/- 1.1%; range 0.3-18.9%) compared with adults (20.5 +/- 1.6%; range 4.9-36.0%) (p < 0.0001). The percentage of Type 2b fibres was directly related to BMI (r = 0.44, p = 0.02), waist circumference (r = 0.49, p = 0.009) and WHR (r = 0.44, p = 0.02) in adults. A significant, direct relationship was also found between the proportion of glycolytic Type 2b fibres and age in the adults (r = 0.45, p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Skeletal muscle fibre type composition is different in infants and adults and there is an age-dependent increase in Type 2b fibres over the lifespan. An increased proportion of glycolytic Type 2b fibres is associated with obesity in adults. Results support a gene-environment interaction on fibre type composition in human skeletal muscle.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Unexpected citrate toxicity and severe hypocalcemia during apheresis.

BACKGROUND: The citrate anticoagulant used during apheresis procedures is considered a safe medication because it is rapidly metabolized by the donor. However, acute, life-threatening hypocalcemia is possible if the infusion rate of citrate is increased. CASE REPORT: A 54-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer, but otherwise in good health, had just begun a fifth collection of hematopoietic peripheral blood progenitor cells by leukapheresis. The instrument's self-loading apheresis kit was primed uneventfully. Seven minutes into the procedure, the patient developed signs and symptoms suggesting severe hypocalcemia, including muscle spasms, chest pain, and hypotension. The citrate bag was discovered to have emptied, and a section of the anticoagulant tubing was protruding outside of the rotary pump. The patient's ionized calcium level was 0.64 mmol per L (normal range, 1.18-1.38 mmol/L). In subsequent experiments where the anticoagulant tubing was either improperly loaded at the outset or partially pulled out of the rotary pump, no instrument alarms sounded. CONCLUSION: Citrate toxicity and life-threatening hypocalcemia can occur if the anticoagulant line of an apheresis instrument is not properly housed in its rotary pump or becomes disengaged during the procedure. Instrument manufacturers are encouraged to consider designs that allow the direct measurement of the volume of citrate delivered. In the interim, periodic visual and tactile confirmation of tubing placement during apheresis procedures is prudent.

Blood Component Removal↗
PubMed1997

Dying with style: infant death and its context in a rural industrial township 1650-1830.

The literature on the demographic impact of rural industrialization in England has lagged somewhat behind continental inspired historiography. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the sphere of infant mortality, where commentators have failed to balance the effects of rural industry on health and welfare--such as higher earnings and the existance of more dense kinship networks--with the negative effects--proximity of rural industrial areas to rapidly growing towns, poor public health and rapidly increasing population density. Using the results from a very detailed analysis of a proto-industrial township in the West Riding of Yorkshire between 1650 and 1830, this article contends that rural industrial areas had a distinctive experience of infant mortality. In line with much of the existing literature on England, rates of infant mortality in this township were modest. However, concentration on bald figures without wider contextualization, masks the fact that infant mortalitiy visited itself most intensely on a narrow range of families and a narrow range of spatial areas. Those most susceptible were in-migrants living on common land, and the wider linkage of family reconstitution data to poor law evidence suggests that the defining characteristic of concentrated infant mortality was recurrent parental illness, leading to inadequate child care and breast-feeding.

Child Care↗