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Biomedical subjects

W R Kelly

Publications and source records attributed to W R Kelly.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Skin cancer and papillomaviruses in cattle.

We examined proliferative lesions on the sun-exposed, unpigmented skin of 13 cattle. Ages of animals at first examination ranged from 4 to 15 years, and 4 were observed for from one to 3 years, during which time progression to malignancy occurred in 2 of them. Early lesions consisted of keratin scales and horns; histology showed underlying acanthosis and hyperkeratosis. Advanced lesions were either squamous cell carcinomas or basaloid tumours with sebaceous and/or squamous differentiation; some were locally invasive but no metastases were found in the 6 animals that were available for necropsy. All 3 types of lesion could occur on the same animal. In early lesions from 11 of 12 animals, there was evidence for the presence of papillomavirus, either virions or viral DNA, the latter detected by gel electrophoresis and/or molecular hybridization. Viral DNA was also detected in 3 basaloid tumours and 2 squamous cell carcinomas from 4 animals. The DNA bound to a probe of bovine papillomavirus type 1 DNA under conditions of low stringency. We suggest that both infection with papillomavirus and exposure to sunlight, possibly in conjunction with other factors such as a period of photosensitization, are involved in the production of this spectrum of proliferative lesions, which bear some resemblance to human skin cancer.

Aging↗
PubMed1987

Spontaneous lymphoid neoplasia in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).

Thirteen cases of lymphoid neoplasia were examined in koalas from New South Wales and Queensland. Haematological and biochemical data were collected from 2 cases while all were subjected to detailed necropsies. Affected koalas were adults of both sexes and the disease had a variable time course. The 2 koalas examined haematologically were leukaemic. On a morphological basis, 5 cases were classified as multicentric, 7 cases as abdominal (but not necessarily with alimentary tract involvement) and one case as solitary. In most cases, the neoplastic cells appeared to be either lymphoblasts or prolymphocytes.

Animal Diseases↗
PubMed1987

Determining picogram quantities of U in human urine by thermal ionization mass spectrometry.

The U concentration in Standard Reference Material 2670 (Toxic Metals in Freeze-Dried Urine) and the urine of two preschool-age children were determined by measuring the chemically separated U by isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry using ion counting detection. This procedure can detect about 1% of the U atoms loaded into the mass spectrometer and has a total chemical blank of about 5 pg U. The U concentration in SRM 2670 was found to be 113 +/- 2 pg 238U/ml (1 s). At this concentration, a 1-ml sample is sufficient for a determination with a total uncertainty of less than 5%. The U concentrations in the two children were 3.1 +/- 0.9 and 3.6 +/- 0.9 pg 238U/g. These values suggest that the U concentration in urine of unexposed persons may be at this low level or lower.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1987

The impact of outpatient drug benefits on the use and costs of health care services for the elderly.

In light of the current debate surrounding the extension of Medicare benefits to cover outpatient drugs, it is important to increase our understanding of the impact of drug payment programs on overall health care outcomes and expenditures. In this retrospective study of health care use among Medicare beneficiaries in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, we studied the impact of New Jersey's Pharmaceutical Assistance for the Aged (PAA) program on health care costs. Using multiple regression analysis, we found that New Jersey Medicare recipients used, on average, $238.50 less in inpatient hospital care under the PAA program than did their counterparts in eastern Pennsylvania, which did not have a drug payment assistance program in place. Although administrative costs may have reduced overall savings, it seems reasonable to conclude that the PAA program resulted in no overall health care cost increases.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Definition of a non-alert downer cow syndrome and some case histories.

The clinical, blood biochemical and autopsy findings on a cow affected by a 'non-alert downer cow syndrome' are described in detail and compared with brief clinical and biochemical details from six similar cases attended elsewhere. The significance of the biochemical observations is discussed in relation to the observations from many other clinical milk fever cases in a dairy practice in Victoria. This syndrome developed in 1.9 per cent of 584 cases of milk fever. The essential findings in the syndrome were that all cows had an initial clinical episode suggestive of milk fever but showed an unsatisfactory clinical response to calcium borogluconate therapy. After a day or two all cows became laterally recumbent, some exhibited expiratory moaning and all developed mucoid faeces which, in many cases contained spots of blood. All cases had significantly lower erythrocyte and plasma potassium concentrations than those in milk fever cases which responded to treatment.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Treatment of equine onchocerciasis with ivermectin paste.

A single oral dose of ivermectin paste was administered to 12 horses with dermatitis and clinical signs typical of onchocerciasis. Two of the horses also had lesions of Queensland itch. Microfilarias of Onchocerca cervicalis were identified in fresh, macerated, skin biopsies from the neck, brisket or umbilical regions of all horses and microfilarias of O. gutturosa from the neck of 2. Eight of the horses developed skin reactions 4 to 24 h after the administration of the ivermectin, notably weals over the neck, shoulders and flanks and pitting oedema of the ventral midline and intermandibular space. Regression of the onchocerciasis lesions was evident within 7 days of treatment and affected skin had returned to normal within 3 months. The lesions of Queensland itch were not affected by the ivermectin treatment. Microfilarias were present in biopsies of skin, particularly in the superficial dermis, before treatment, but were absent from all skin biopsies taken one week after treatment. In some horses transient skin sensitivity reactions developed. Microfilarias began to reappear in the biopsies of some of the horses 2 months after treatment. It is concluded that the oral paste formulation of ivermectin, although not effective against adult onchocerca, is useful for the therapeutic control of microfilarias in the skin lesions of equine onchocerciasis.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Cestrum parqui (green cestrum) poisoning in cattle.

Naturally occurring cases of poisoning of cattle by Cestrum parqui were characterised by ataxia, depression, recumbency, convulsions and death. Three cattle were dosed experimentally by intrarumenal administration of fresh plant material. One calf died 48 h after receiving 30 g (wet weight) of plant/kg bodyweight. Doses of 11 and 17 g/kg caused only mild intoxication, with dullness and anorexia lasting 2 days. In natural and experimental cases the main lesion was hepatic periacinar necrosis. Elevated levels of plasma aspartate transaminase and prolonged prothrombin times were demonstrated in experimental cases. Haemorrhage beneath the serosa and into the intestinal lumen occurred in field cases, but not in the experimental. It is concluded that C. parqui poisoning in cattle is a primary hepatotoxicity.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Canine alpha-L-fucosidosis: a storage disease of Springer Spaniels.

Progressive ataxia, proprioceptive deficits, dysphagia and wasting occurred in a female and a male from the same litter of Springer Spaniels after the age of 12 and 19 months. At autopsy both showed marked enlargement of cranial parts of vagus and cervical nerves and dorsal root ganglia, and there was widespread vacuolation of cells of central nervous system (CNS), some peripheral nerves and of epithelial and mesenchymal cells of many organs; these vacuoles were largely empty in histological material, and were assumed to be of lysosomal origin after electron-microscopic study. Cultured fibroblasts and peripheral blood leucocytes from the male were shown to be severely deficient in alpha-L-fucosidase, and the mother of these cases was found to have less than half the expected activity of this enzyme in blood leucocytes. This condition is presented as a potential animal model of human alpha-L-fucosidase.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

A time series analysis of Swedish illegitimacy rates, 1911-1974.

Using a sociodemographic model of the determinants of illegitimacy rates, a multivariate regression analysis of annual change in age-specific Swedish illegitimacy rates is applied to the 1911-74 period. The proxy measure of change in sexual activity was significant for all age groups. Legitimation rates for out-of-wedlock conceived births were significant for all ages except teenagers, and the final predictor, women's status, was significant for all ages except women 35-44. Explained variance for annual change was highest among ages 20-24 (66%), 25-29 (66%), and 30-34 (63%) and lower among teens (34%) and women 35-44 (47%). These results support earlier research that used a sociodemographic model to explain post-World War II change in cross-national illegitimacy rates among 23 developed countries.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Renal dysfunction in a case of purpura haemorrhagica in a horse.

A four-year-old thoroughbred was presented with clinical manifestations of purpura haemorrhagica. Evidence of renal involvement consistent with glomerulopathy and nephrotic syndrome, characterised by heavy proteinuria and azotaemia, became apparent and may have been exacerbated by diuretic therapy. Autopsy revealed membrano- and mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis and chronic pleuritis. Circulating immune complexes may have been responsible for the renal diseases and the purpura.

Animals↗