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Biomedical subjects

V Price

Publications and source records attributed to V Price.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Neonatal cholinesterase inhibitor poisoning: materno-fetal exchange of pesticide.

This is a case report of a neonatal cholinesterase inhibitor poisoning after non-accidental ingestion of a carbamate containing pesticide by the mother prior to delivery. The mother presented with symptoms of cholinesterase inhibitor poisoning at 40 weeks of gestation. A fetal bradycardia was present. The mother improved after administration of intravenous atropine. Spontaneous labour ensued and a term female infant weighing 3200 g was delivered. The infant had signs of cholinergic stimulation and decreased levels of serum cholinesterase. The neonate presented with a marked tachycardia. The heart rate normalized after administration of atropine. Therefore, we concluded that the tachycardia was due to the cholinesterase inhibitor substance, causing catecholamine release by stimulation of nicotinic receptors. Another potential contributing factor to the tachycardia, although unlikely in our patient, was the atropine administered to the mother prior to delivery. Mother and infant recovered well. We conclude that infants can present with tachycardia associated with cholinesterase inhibitor toxicity. Despite the side-effects intravenous atropine should not be withheld in the treatment of mother and infant.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

FAST on operational military deployment.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Handheld ultrasound, because of its light weight, size, rugged design, and relative simplicity of use is ideal for use on operational military deployment. These machines have been used in the diagnosis of a range of traumatic conditions including abdominal, thoracic, and extremity trauma in the hospital environment, yet few data exist on their use during military operations. This paper presents experience of handheld focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) on operational military deployment. METHOD: Over a two month period, handheld FAST was performed by a single surgeon during the circulation phase of the primary survey in trauma patients presenting to the British Military Hospital in Iraq. RESULTS: Fifteen from casualties underwent a FAST examination. Ten were victims of blunt trauma, two had received injuries anti-personnel mines, and three had penetrating injuries from ballistic trauma. There was one positive FAST, confirmed at laparotomy as bleeding from a liver injury. Thirteen scans were negative and remained negative on repeat FAST at 6 hours. One further patient with a negative FAST underwent laparotomy because of transectory, there was no intra-abdominal blood or fluid at surgery. CONCLUSION: Handheld FAST is a valuable technique for investigating abdominal or thoracic bleeding in single or multiple casualty events on operational military deployment.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed2004

Handheld ultrasound diagnosis of extremity fractures.

Hand portable ultrasound has been validated in trauma patients using the FAST technique. The machine's light and rugged design make it suitable for military deployment and they have been successfully used on deployments in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. Ultrasound is widely accepted in the diagnosis of abdominal and thoracic trauma, however, little work exists on its use in extremity trauma. Although the diagnosis of fractures usually relies on X-ray this may not be readily available at Role 1 or 2. We successfully identified long bone fractures in three patients using hand portable ultrasound during Operation Telic. The technique and ultrasound findings are described and the current literature on this technique is reviewed.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Modulation of human swallowing behaviour by thermal and chemical stimulation in health and after brain injury.

Few data support thermal or chemical stimulation as therapy for neurogenic dysphagia. Our aims were to explore the behavioural effects of thermal (cold) and chemical (citrus) modalities on water swallowing in health (n = 65, mean age 45 years, 44 females) and acute stroke (n = 22, mean age 67 years, eight females). Multiple randomized timed 50-mL swallowing tests were performed for each of four water conditions: (a) room temperature (RT), (b) cold (CD), (c) citrus (CT) and (d) combined cold and citrus (CD + CT). The inter-swallow interval (ISI), swallowing volume velocity (speed), and volume per swallow (capacity) were measured. In health, compared to RT, only CD + CT slowed the speed (12.3 +/- 0.5 vs 10.3 +/- 0.5 mL s(-1), P < 0.03) and decreased the capacity (16.4 +/- 0.9 vs 14.6 +/- 0.7 mL per swallow, P < 0.02) of swallowing. ISI was unaffected, except by CD + CT in healthy young subjects (<60 years) where it was reduced (1.44 +/- 0.02 vs 1.30 +/- 0.02 s, P < 0.02). Despite smaller volumes ingested by stroke patients, CD + CT, compared to RT, again slowed both the speed (3.8 +/- 0.4 vs 4.5 +/- 0.5 mL s(-1), P < 0.03) and capacity (7.6 +/- 0.7 vs 8.5 +/- 0.7 mL per swallow, P < 0.03) of swallowing but had no effect on ISI. We conclude that combined thermal and chemical modification of water consistently alters swallowing behaviour in health and after cerebral injury. These findings have relevance in the management of neurogenic swallowing problems.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Update on cicatricial alopecia.

Cicatricial alopecia is an enigmatic group of hair disorders linked by the potential permanent loss of scalp hair follicles in involved areas. Progress in our understanding and treatment of these disorders has been stymied by the lack of clear diagnostic criteria for the current terms used to describe the various hair loss entities. Since all of these conditions evolve as the hair is destroyed or replaced, diagnosis is further made difficult by a lack of clinical and pathologic "snapshots" over the evolution of each disorder. Without some acceptance of general clinical and histological presentations in the early, mid and late stage of these disorders, one cannot begin to explore ways to make the diagnosis at a very early stage before significant follicular destraction has occurred (making the clinical diagnosis obvious) and when the damage is potentially repairable or progression preventable.

Alopecia↗
PubMed2000

Molecular cloning and biological characterization of a novel murine lymphoid growth factor.

Using a bioassay consisting of the proliferation of a murine B cell line, a cDNA of a gene whose product supports the growth of that cell line was isolated from a thymic stromal cell line. This factor, termed thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), is a protein of 140 amino acids. The gene encoding TSLP was mapped to murine chromosome 18. Purified recombinant TSLP supported the growth of pre-B cell colonies in vitro, but had no myelopoietic activity. TSLP had comitogenic activity for fetal thymocytes, but was not as potent as interleukin 7 in lobe submersion cultures. Injection of TSLP into neonatal mice induced the expansion of B220(+)BP-1(+) pre-B cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Inhibition of platelet function by recombinant soluble ecto-ADPase/CD39.

Excessive platelet accumulation and recruitment, leading to vessel occlusion at sites of vascular injury, present major therapeutic challenges in cardiovascular medicine. Endothelial cell CD39, an ecto-enzyme with ADPase and ATPase activities, rapidly metabolizes ATP and ADP released from activated platelets, thereby abolishing recruitment. Therefore, a soluble form of CD39, retaining nucleotidase activities, would constitute a novel antithrombotic agent. We designed a recombinant, soluble form of human CD39, and isolated it from conditioned media from transiently transfected COS-1 cells and from stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Conditioned medium from CHO cells grown under serum-free conditions was subjected to anti-CD39 immunoaffinity column chromatography, yielding a single approximately 66-kD protein with ATPase and ADPase activities. Purified soluble CD39 blocked ADP-induced platelet aggregation in vitro, and inhibited collagen-induced platelet reactivity. Kinetic analyses indicated that, while soluble CD39 had a Km for ADP of 5.9 microM and for ATP of 2.1 microM, the specificity constant kcat/Km was the same for both substrates. Intravenously administered soluble CD39 remained active in mice for an extended period of time, with an elimination phase half-life of almost 2 d. The data indicate that soluble CD39 is a potential therapeutic agent for inhibition of platelet-mediated thrombotic diatheses.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1997

Pancreas and kidney allograft-infiltrating cells in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Rejection after pancreas-kidney transplantation may occur isolated or concurrently in both grafts. To get more insight into the cellular mechanisms underlying these rejection episodes, we compared the functional characteristics of pancreas and kidney graft-infiltrating T cells. METHODS: Graft-infiltrating T cell (GIC) lines were cultured from simultaneously taken pancreas and kidney biopsies from eight patients. CD4 to CD8 ratios were determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorter and cytotoxicity toward donor proximal tubular epithelial cells (PTEC) and donor spleen cells (DSC) using a standard cytotoxicity assay. Cytokine production was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: CD4 to CD8 ratios were comparable between the pancreas and kidney lines for each patient, but differences were observed in cytotoxicity toward PTEC and DSC. For four of eight patients, the lysis of PTEC by pancreas GIC was less than the lysis induced by kidney GIC. This was also seen in three of five patients for lysis of DSC. The specificity of GIC lines toward mismatched donor antigens was studied for two patients and appeared to be comparable for pancreas and kidney. Most GIC lines produced interferon (IFN)-gamma (75.5+/-22.7 pg/ml), but no IL-10, indicating that the cell lines consisted primarily of Th1 and type 1 CD8+ cells. Mean production of IL-6 was 465.6+/-193.6 pg/ml. No major differences were observed between kidney and pancreas GIC for either cytokine. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that pancreas and kidney GIC lines have the same phenotype, cytokine production, and allospecificity. Differences were, however, seen for lysis of PTEC and DSC, suggesting that tissue-specific antigens might play a role.

Biopsy↗
PubMed1997

What's it all about, empathy?

This paper investigates the concept of empathy, a core element of all helping relationships. A discussion of its prevalence in the nursing literature is traced, before a discussion ensues as to whether it is a naturally acquired ability which develops with maturity, or whether it is a skill that can be taught and learnt. It is concluded that empathy remains a poorly defined, multidimensional concept which still remains not fully identified.

Education, Nursing↗
PubMed1996

Resonance assignments for Oncostatin M, a 24-kDa alpha-helical protein.

Oncostatin M (OM) is a cytokine that shares a structural and functional relationship with interleukin-6, leukemia inhibitory factor, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, which regulate the proliferation and differentiation of a variety of cell types. A mutant version of human OM in which two N-linked glycosylation sites and an unpaired cysteine have been mutated to alanine (N76A/C81A/N193A) has been expressed and shown to be active. The triple mutant has been doubly isotope-labeled with 13C and 15N in order to utilize heteronuclear multidimensional NMR techniques for structure determination. Approximately 90% of the backbone resonances were assigned from a combination of triple-resonance data (HNCA, HNCO, CBCACONH, HBHACONH, HNHA and HCACO), intraresidue and sequential NOEs (3D 15N-NOESY-HMQC and 13C-HSQC-NOESY) and side-chain information obtained from the CCONH and HCCONH experiments. Preliminary analysis of the NOE pattern in the 15N-NOESY-HMQC spectrum and the 13C alpha secondary chemical shifts predicts a secondary structure for OM consisting of four alpha-helices with three intervening helical regions, consistent with the four-helix-bundle motif found for this cytokine family. As a 203-residue protein with a molecular weight of 24 kDa, Oncostatin M is the largest alpha-helical protein yet assigned.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Close proximity of the genes for leukemia inhibitory factor and oncostatin M.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) and oncostatin M (OSM) are structurally related cytokines that share a common receptor complex. The genes for LIF and OSM have previously been reported to be on human chromosome 22. We report here the isolation of a single 73 kbp human genomic yeast artificial chromosome clone that contains the LIF and OSM genes. The two genes lie within 19 kbp of each other and are transcribed in opposite directions.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Public opinion about AIDS policies. The role of misinformation and attitudes toward homosexuals.

In an effort to better understand the cognitive and attitudinal factors underlying public opinion on AIDS-related issues, this article proposes and empirically tests a model of the relationships between (1) knowledge of HIV transmission, specifically the misinformation that AIDS can be transmitted easily through casual contact with HIV-infected persons; (2) attitudes toward homosexuals, the most prominent of the social groups presently affected by the AIDS crisis; and (3) support for restrictive public policies aimed at HIV-infected persons. Data from two nationally representative surveys conducted in December of 1985 (N = 2,308) and in July of 1987 (N = 2,095) provide evidence that misinformation about AIDS transmission and negative attitudes toward homosexuals are strong predictors of support for stringent restrictions of persons with AIDS. The findings also suggest that several background factors, in particular, education and political liberalism, may also play decisive roles in influencing levels of support for restricting those infected with the AIDS virus.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1991

Molecular characterization of the interleukin-8 receptor.

Recently a rabbit cDNA (F3R) was characterized as binding and causing calcium mobilization induced by the formyl-methionine-leucine-phenylalanine peptide (fMLP). In the study reported here, cloned DNAs were isolated from rabbit genomic DNA by PCR based on the sequence of F3R. The cloned DNAs have several differences in the DNA sequence compared to the reported F3R sequence that alter the predicted protein sequence. COS-7 cells transfected with these clones in a mammalian expression vector bind human IL-8 with high affinity, but do not bind fMLP. We therefore believe that the cDNAs isolated encode the rabbit IL-8 receptor.

Amino Acid Sequence↗