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Biomedical subjects

S Little

Publications and source records attributed to S Little.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

South Birmingham Coronary Prevention Project: a district approach to the prevention of heart disease.

The South Birmingham Coronary Prevention Project is described, in which health checks by practice nurses in GPs' surgeries are combined with direct patient access to a secondary referral system. Where appropriate, health check attenders are offered the choice of either (a) counselling by the practice nurse, (b) direct referral to their GP, or (c) direct referral to secondary intervention, including specialist dietary advice for patients with high (greater than 6.5 mmol/l) serum cholesterol, stress management training for mild hypertension (diastolic blood pressure greater than 90 less than 105 mmHg), and smoking cessation groups. Significant reductions in blood pressure (p less than 0.005) and serum cholesterol levels (p less than 0.001) have been achieved. Further, substantial numbers of smokers have ceased since attending smoking cessation groups. This multidisciplinary approach to the identification and modification of risk factors for coronary heart disease may provide a powerful adjunct to wider ranging population interventions.

Coronary Disease↗
PubMed1989

Translational coupling in the threonine operon of Escherichia coli K-12.

In an attempt to express the two distal genes of the Escherichia coli threonine operon, the majority of the first gene in the operon, thrA, was removed and a series of transcriptional fusions were constructed placing the thrB and thrC genes downstream of either the trp or hybrid tac promoter. Analysis of the proteins produced by cells containing these fusions revealed that although the distal gene, thrC, was efficiently expressed, the proximal gene, thrB, was not expressed at a detectable level. A translational fusion was constructed which fused the cat gene in phase to the last 800 base pairs of thrA followed by thrB and thrC. Cells containing this fusion produced high levels of both the thrB and thrC gene products, showing that translation of thrB requires translation through thrA; thus, thrA and thrB are translationally coupled. In addition, it was found that a sequence between 220 and 57 base pairs before the start of thrB was necessary to allow translational coupling to occur.

Carbon-Oxygen Lyases↗
PubMed1989

A comparison of the effects of tenoxicam and piroxicam on grip strength in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Ten patients were recruited for this randomised double-blind pilot study to compare the efficacy and tolerance of tenoxicam 20 mg daily and piroxicam 20 mg daily in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The change in grip strength over an eight week study period was the primary efficacy variable and measurements were made using a digital pinch/grip analyser (MIE Medical Research Ltd.). There were no significant treatment differences in the change in grip strength (p greater than 0.2), although greater improvements in all efficacy parameters measured were achieved for patients receiving tenoxicam than those receiving piroxicam. Both treatments were well tolerated with few adverse events reported. Further studies with more patients are required to adequately assess whether there are any differences between treatments.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Reperfusion-induced arrhythmias: a study of the role of xanthine oxidase-derived free radicals in the rat heart.

We have assessed whether oxygen-derived free radicals produced by xanthine oxidase may be an important trigger mechanism in the genesis of reperfusion-induced arrhythmias. We have examined (i) the effects of inhibition of xanthine oxidase by both folic acid solution and amflutizole; (ii) the effects of the inhibitor of xanthine dehydrogenase to xanthine oxidase conversion, soybean trypsin inhibitor; (iii) the effects of administration of superoxide dismutase and catalase, both singly and in combination and (iv) in an isolated rat heart preparation we have investigated the ability of free radical scavengers to reduce reperfusion arrhythmias caused by the infusion of xanthine oxidase and hypoxanthine. The prior administration of folic acid solution, amflutizole, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase plus catalase all reduced the incidence of reperfusion-induced arrhythmias and resultant mortality, caused by reperfusion after a transient period of coronary artery occlusion in the anaesthetised rat. Prior administration of soybean trypsin inhibitor significantly reduced mortality. In an isolated, perfused rat heart preparation with temporary coronary artery occlusion, addition of xanthine oxidase-hypoxanthine to the perfusion medium increased the incidence of reperfusion arrhythmias and decreased the total duration of sinus rhythm during reperfusion. Further addition of superoxide dismutase or L-methionine increased significantly the total duration of sinus rhythm. These results suggest that in the rat heart xanthine oxidase may be involved in the genesis of reperfusion-induced arrhythmias.

Allopurinol↗
PubMed1988

A multi-disciplinary approach to the prevention of coronary heart disease.

The South Birmingham Coronary Prevention Project is described, in which health checks by practice nurses in GPs' surgeries are combined with direct patient access to a secondary referral system. Where appropriate, health check attenders are offered the choice of either counselling by the practice nurse, direct referral to their GP, or direct referral to secondary intervention, including dietary advice for patients with high serum cholesterol, stress management training for mild hypertension, and smoking cessation groups run by specialist workers. Further developments of the project may be toward increasing areas of nurses intervention, for example running lipid clinics, and combining with Look After Your Heart! in the workplace. Progress in each of these areas is described and discussed.

Coronary Disease↗
PubMed1987

Responses of smooth muscle strips from penile erectile tissue to drugs and transmural nerve stimulation.

1. The mechanical response to drugs and to electrical stimulation of nerves was investigated in isolated strips of intrinsic smooth muscle from the corpora cavernosa penis of the rat. 2. Noradrenaline caused muscle strips to contract in a dose-dependent manner. Contractions could be blocked by pretreatment with the alpha-adrenoreceptor antagonist, phentolamine. 3. Acetylcholine and carbachol had no effect on the baseline tension of muscle strips. Both drugs were relatively ineffective in relaxing noradrenaline-contracted strips. 4. Field stimulation of isolated muscle strips elicited contractions which were blocked by tetrodotoxin and greatly attenuated with phentolamine or reserpine pretreatment. Acetylcholine inhibited the excitatory response to field stimulation. This inhibitory effect of acetylcholine could be blocked with atropine. 5. Field stimulation of noradrenaline-contracted muscle strips caused relaxation. This inhibitory effect, due to nerves which arise from the pelvic plexus, is unaffected by substances which act on cholinergic systems. 6. The results suggest that the erectile muscle of the rat is similar to that of man in that it receives an excitatory noradrenergic innervation and an inhibitory innervation which may have a non-cholinergic component. Although acetylcholine may have a role in penile physiology of the rat, it is unlikely that it has a postsynaptic action.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1986

Cloning of cDNA coding for human tissue-type plasminogen activator and its expression in Escherichia coli.

cDNA clones of the mRNA coding for tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) have been obtained and their nucleotide sequences compared to those reported previously. A gene coding for t-PA has been reconstructed and inserted into vectors for expression in prokaryotic cells. Relatively high levels of t-PA accumulated in inclusion bodies in Escherichia coli containing an optimized expression plasmid, but only a small proportion of the insoluble protein was recovered as active enzyme using a variety of solubilization procedures.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1984

Codon usage can affect efficiency of translation of genes in Escherichia coli.

By inserting synthetic oligonucleotides into a highly expressed gene in E. coli it has been shown that unfavourable codon usage can reduce the maximum translation rate of a protein. However, in the case of the codon used (AGG), a significant effect on translation was only seen at very high transcription rates from a gene containing multiple copies of the unfavourable codon.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1975

Effects of temperature and inorganic ions on calcium accumulation in microsomes from intestinal smooth muscle.

Energy dependent calcium binding in microsomal vesicles from the longitudinal smooth muscle of the guinea pig intestine was investigated at two different temperatures (30 degrees C and 10 degrees C) and in the absence and presence of CdCl2, BaCl2 and MnCl2. The investigation was carried out to determine whether the effects of temperature and the effects of the divalent ions on microsomal calcium binding could be correlated with the effects of these interventions on the mechanical activity of the intact longitudinal fibers. A reduction in temperature from 30 degrees C to 10 degrees C inhibited both the uptake of calcium into the microsomes and the rate of release of calcium ions from the microsomes to the external medium. This exchange in temperature also slowed the rate of relaxation of the intact longitudinal muscle after it had been induced to contract with acetylcholine and subsequently allowed to relax by removing calcium ions from the bathing medium and adding 1 X 10(-3) M EGTA. The presence of CdCl2, like the reduction in temperature, decreased the uptake of calcium into the microsomal vesicles. However, the release of calcium from the microsomes was accelerated. BaCl2, produced the same effects as did CdCl2 on the uptake of calcium into microsomes but to a lesser extent. It had very little effect on the release of calcium ions from the microsomes. MnCl2 had no significant effects on either the uptake or release of calcium ions in the microsomal preparation. Both CdCl2 and MnCl2 exerted an inhibitory action on acetylcholine-induced contractile responses of the intact longitudinal fibers; whereas BaCl2 served to initiate a contractile response in the smooth muscle fibers. Thus, it would appear that the effects of a temperature change on microsomal calcium binding and on mechanical activity in intact fibers can be correlated; but the effects of CdCl2, BaCl2 and MnCl2 on these two cellular processes do not follow any consistent pattern.

Animals↗