Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

T Spillman

Publications and source records attributed to T Spillman.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Influence of phospholipid saturation on classical thin-layer chromatographic detection methods and its effect on amniotic fluid lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio determinations.

We compared seven techniques, commonly used for detection of amniotic fluid phospholipids in thin-layer chromatography, with respect to their sensitivity to saturation of the fatty acid carbon-chain of lecithin. The techniques fell into two classes: sensitive and insensitive; those classed as saturation sensitive were less than or equal to 10% as sensitive to fully saturated lecithin as to lecithin with singly unsaturated acid moieties. Color development increased with the number of carbon-carbon double bonds per molecule but required only a single unsaturated acid ester in either the alpha or the beta position. Mixtures of lecithins with defined saturation, when detected by saturation-sensitive methods, mimicked the uneven coloration of amniotic fluid lecithin bands, supporting the hypothesis that this uneven coloration results from natural saturation heterogeneity. Detection techniques representative of these classes are shown to give widely differing values for the lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio for actual specimens of amniotic fluid.

Amniotic Fluid↗

Changes in DNA binding by purified simian RNA polymerase II under transcribing and nontranscribing conditions.

The interaction of RNA polymerase II from African Green Monkey liver tissue with SV40 DNA was examined by a DNAase protection technique. In the absence of nucleoside triphosphates, simian polymerase binds to nicked, linear SV40 DNA and protects 30 bp of binary complex DNA from DNAase I digestion. With the addition of nucleoside triphosphates to initiate transcription, polymerase protects 40 bp of the ternary complex DNA from DNAase I. Thus, a conformational change in either the polymerase, the DNA, or both occurs during the transition from binary to ternary complex, and this altered conformation allows a larger protection of template DNA. Similar results were seen with Escherichia coli RNA polymerase holoenzyme on SV40 DNA.

Animals↗

Single strand DNA binding of simian virus 40 tumor antigen.

Simian virus 40 T antigen binds to both single and double strand DNA. The single and double strand DNA binding activity of crude T antigen preparations was evaluated by chromatography of the antigen on DNA-cellulose columns. Crude T antigen was retained on both native and denatured DNA-cellulos columns and was eluted from both columns under similar conditions. The interaction of highly purified T antigen with single and double strand DNA was evaluated by competition experiments using a DNA filter binding assay. These experiments showed that T antigen binds preferentially to single strand calf thymus DNA by more than an order of magnitude when compared to double strand calf thymus DNA.

Antigens, Neoplasm↗

[Tympanometry in chronic otitis media].

We present an analysis of the otological and audiological findings in 63 patients (113 ears) in which a myringotomy for suspected serous otitis media has been performed. In 98 ears (87%) the impedance data correlated with otoscopy. Tympanograms did not give further information than otoscopy alone in 49 patients with reliable pure-tone audiometrical results, whereas tympanograms would have missed 6 out of 78 ears containing fluid and 6 out of 49 ears who improved in hearing following myringotomy and transtympanic tube therapy. We feel, however, that, in patients who are too young or too retarded to be tested audiometrically, tympanometry in combination with otoscopy could eventually be helpful in settling the indication for a myringotomy, since 3 out of 83 ears with middle ear fluid and hearing improvement following transtympanic tube therapy had pathological tympanograms in spite of normal-seeming ear drums.

Audiometry↗