Digital Commons Network^™

Are Antinuclear Antibodies And Rheumatiod Factor Positivity More Prevalent In Apparently Healthy Smokers Compared To Ex-Smokers And Never Smokers?, Susan Nyanzi

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

Context: There is now consistent evidence from population and epidemiological studies that cigarette smoking is an independent risk factor for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), via Rheumatoid Factor (RF) production (Deighton, 1997; Saag, 1997; Silman, 1996; Uhlig, 1999; Wolfe, 2000). Antinuclear Antibodies (ANA) are another collection of autoantibodies that are being associated with smoking and RA initiation. To our knowledge, no studies have examined the effects of smoking on both ANA and RF simultaneously in healthy subjects.

Objectives: To determine whether cigarette smoking has an effect on ANA and RF positivity in healthy blood donors.

Design, Setting, Participants: This was a cross-sectional, …

Identifying Target Populations For Screening Or Not Screening Using Logic Regression, Holly Janes, Margaret S. Pepe, Charles Kooperberg, Polly Newcomb

UW Biostatistics Working Paper Series

Colorectal cancer remains a significant public health concern despite the fact that effective screening procedures exist and that the disease is treatable when detected at early stages. Numerous risk factors for colon cancer have been identified, but none are very predictive alone. We sought to determine whether there are certain combinations of risk factors that distinguish well between cases and controls, and that could be used to identify subjects at particularly high or low risk of the disease to target screening. Using data from the Seattle site of the Colorectal Cancer Family Registry (C-CFR), we fit logic regression models to …

Regulation And Localization Of Endogenous Human Tristetraprolin, Anna-Marie Fairhurst, John E. Connolly, Katharine A Hintz, Nicolas J Goulding

Dartmouth Scholarship

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) has been implicated in the development and pathogenicity of infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders, such as septic shock and arthritis. The zinc-finger protein tristetraprolin (TTP) has been identified as a major regulator of TNF biosynthesis. To define its intracellular location and examine its regulation of TNF, a quantitive intracellular staining assay specific for TTP was developed. We establish for the first time that in peripheral blood leukocytes, express

Photodynamic Therapy, Ashley Thomas

McCabe Thesis Collection

Photodynamic therapy is a new treatment that is being introduced into the veterinary community. Photodynamic therapy is the use of light activated chemotherapy to kill cancer cells (Dougherty, 1998). It has already been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to be used as a form of cancer treatment in humans, but has not been carried over to the veterinary community. That is until now. Photodynamic therapy is now being tested in the veterinary community in hopes to find the same results that the human medical community has when dealing with certain types of cancer. They also hope to …

Hdl-Associated Estradiol Stimulates Endothelial No Synthase And Vasodilation In An Sr-Bi–Dependent Manner, Ming Gong, Melinda E. Wilson, Thomas Kelly, Wen Su, James Dressman, Jeanie Kincer, Sergey V. Matveev, Ling Guo, Theresa Guerin, Xiang-An Li, Weifei Zhu, Annette M. Uittenbogaard, Eric J. Smart

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in the United States. Two factors associated with a decreased risk of developing cardiovascular disease are elevated HDL levels and sex — specifically, a decreased risk is found in premenopausal women. HDL and estrogen stimulate eNOS and the production of nitric oxide, which has numerous protective effects in the vascular system including vasodilation, antiadhesion, and anti-inflammatory effects. We tested the hypothesis that HDL binds to its receptor, scavenger receptor class B type I (SR-BI), and delivers estrogen to eNOS, thereby stimulating the enzyme. HDL isolated from women stimulated eNOS, whereas HDL isolated …

Oncolog, Volume 48, Number 05, May 2003, Katie Prout Matias, David Galloway, Ryuji Kobayashi Phd

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Proteomics May One Day Revolutionize Cancer Detection, Staging, and Prognosis
• Depression in Patients with Cancer Is a Separate—and Treatable—Illness
• House Call: Facing Fatigue When You Have Cancer: What Can You Do?
• DiaLog: Proteomics: The Creation of a New Field of Study, by Ryuji Kobayashi, PhD, Professor, Department of Molecular Pathology, Director, Proteomics Program

Aquaporin Proteins In Murine Trophectoderm Mediate Transepithelial Water Movements During Cavitation., Lisa C Barcroft, Hanne Offenberg, Preben Thomsen, Andrew J Watson

Obstetrics & Gynaecology Publications

Mammalian blastocyst formation is dependent on establishment of trophectoderm (TE) ion and fluid transport mechanisms. We have examined the expression and function of aquaporin (AQP) water channels during murine preimplantation development. AQP 3, 8, and 9 proteins demonstrated cell margin-associated staining starting at the 8-cell (AQP 9) or compacted morula (AQP 3 and 8) stages. In blastocysts, AQP 3 and 8 were detected in the basolateral membrane domains of the trophectoderm, while AQP3 was also observed in cell margins of all inner cell mass (ICM) cells. In contrast, AQP 9 was predominantly observed within the apical membrane domains of the …

Com Outlook Spring 2003, College Of Osteopathic Medicine

COM Outlook

No abstract provided.

Ua61/6 Newsletter, Issue 1, Wku Institute For Rural Development

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by and about the Institute for Rural Development. This issue contents:

• Mobile Health & Wellness Unit
• The New Hazard & Emergency Awareness Training (HEAT) Mobile Unit Arrives at WKU
• Gardner, Marilyn. Emergency Medical Services Monograph Coming
• A Nursing Student’s Perspective
• Enhancing Rural Student Postsecondary Decisions
• Lu, Ning & Richard Wilson. Kentuckian Socioecomic Status, Health Behavior, Access to Medical Care, & Health Status
• Austin, Lynn. School-based Dental Sealant Program
• The Institute for Rural Health Development & Research

Radiosurgery For The Control Of Glomus Jugulare Tumours, Muhammad Ehsan Bari, A A. Kemeny, D M C Forster, M W. Radatz

Section of Neurosurgery

Objective: To ascertain the efficacy of stereotactic radiosurgery (gamma knife) for the control of glomus jugulare tumours.
Method: Between March 1994 and December 1997 we treated eight patients of glomus jugulare tumour with radiosurgery. These patients have been followed for more than four years (range 52 to 97 months). The age of the patients ranged between 32-64 years (mean 53 years). The male: female ratio was 3:5. Three patients had previously undergone surgery and one had unsuccessful embolization. The dose applied to tumour margin ranged between 16-25 Gy (median 25 Gy). Patients were followed up with yearly MRI scans and …

Morbidity Spectrum In The Veterans, Muhammad Imran Omar, Saba Sohail

Department of Radiology

No abstract provided.

Expression Of Glutathione-S-Transferase Mu 1 (Gstm1) And Glutathione-S-Transferase Theta 1 (Gstt1) In Patients With Aplastic Anemia And Myelodysplastic Syndromes, Aaron Conrad Spivey

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Aplastic Anemia is a disorder of the hematopoietic bone marrow stem cells that is frequently associated with drug or chemical exposures. Reduced ability to detoxify drugs or chemicals may result in an increased risk of disease. Glutathione S-transferases are Phase II enzymes, which help detoxify xenobiotics. Many patients who have developed aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndrome have the null genotype for GSTMI and/or GSTTI. For patients with GSTMI and GSTTI positive genotypes, non-expression of these enzymes may cause an increased risk in developing aplastic anemia or myelodysplastic syndrome. To test whether genotype positive patients have GSTMI or GSTTI null …

Cell-Cycle Regulatory Proteins In Podocyte Cell In Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome Of Childhood., Tarak Srivastava, Robert E. Garola, J M. Whiting, Uri S. Alon

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

BACKGROUND: The podocyte cell is believed to play an important role in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) of childhood. In adults with cellular and collapsing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), the expression of cell-cycle regulatory proteins such as p27, p57, and cyclin D is decreased and expression of cyclin A, Ki-67, and p21 is observed in podocyte cells suggestive of a dysregulated podocyte phenotype. We investigated for alterations in the expression of cyclin kinase inhibitors, p27, p57, p21, and cyclins D and A in the podocyte cell of children with INS.

METHODS: Forty-two kidney biopsies were investigated; 14 with minimal-change disease (MCD), …

Characterization Of Mouse Prostate Tumor-Infiltrating Leukocytes, Daniel Alan Holterman

Theses and Dissertations in Biomedical Sciences

Prostate cancer is the most common form of non-cutaneous cancer among men in the United States and the second most common cause of cancer-related death among men with approximately 189,000 new cases diagnosed and 30,200 deaths of the disease in 2002. Prostate cancer can be a treatable disease but once it becomes metastatic there are no acceptable therapies. For this reason, immunotherapy has been attempted but the results have been disappointing. The TRAMP model was used to evaluate specific interactions between an intact murine immune system and a prostate tumor that expressed a naturally processed weak tumor antigen. Vaccination trials …

High Dietary Level Of Synthetic Vitamin E On Lipid Peroxidation, Membrane Fatty Acid Composition And Cytotoxicity In Breast Cancer Xenograft And In Mouse Host Tissue, Ivan L. Cameron, Jesus Munoz, Christopher J. Barnes, W. Elaine Hardman

Biochemistry and Microbiology

Background

d-α-tocopherol is a naturally occurring form of vitamin E not previously known to have antitumor activity. Synthetic vitamin E (sE) is a commonly used dietary supplement consisting of a mixture of d-α-tocopherol and 7 equimolar stereoisomers. To test for antilipid peroxidation and for antitumor activity of sE supplementation, two groups of nude mice bearing a MDA-MB 231 human breast cancer tumor were fed an AIN-76 diet, one with and one without an additional 2000 IU/kg dry food (equivalent to 900 mg of all-rac-α-tocopherol or sE). This provided an intake of about 200 mg/kg body weight per day. The mice …

Vital Signs, Spring 2003, Boonshoft School Of Medicine

Vital Signs

A twenty-seven page newsletter created by the Boonshoft School of Medicine to document the current affairs of the school. This issue includes a variety of feature articles, a faculty profile, and more.

Oncolog, Volume 48, Number 03, March 2003, David Galloway, Ann Sutton, Katie Prout Matias, Donna R. Copeland Phd

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Pediatric Oncologists Search for More Effective Drugs to Treat an ‘Orphan Disease’
• Collaborative Studies Lead to Better Survival Rates in Young Patients with Rhabdomyosarcoma
• Protecting the Heart and Gastrointestinal Tract from Treatment-Associated Damage Is an Important Element of Cancer Care
• House Call: Conquering the Pain of Cancer
• DiaLog: Recognizing and Treating Cognitive Dysfunctions in Survivors of Childhood Cancers, by Donna R. Copeland, PhD, Professor, Department of Pediatrics

Male Breast Cancer, N Kayani, M N. Khan, Y Bhurgri, S Gill, M I. Nasir, T Siddiqui

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Objective: To review cases of male breast cancer.
Settings: Histopathology Section, Department of Pathology, The Aga Khan University, Karachi.
Method: Fifty one cases of male breast cancer specimens, received during a period of 10 years, routinely processed and stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin were analyzed. Special stains and Immunohistochemistry were used in difficult cases.
Results: Male breast cancer affected individuals in the sixth and seventh decades of life with a mean age of 56.2 years. Infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) was the predominant type. Skin involvement was seen in 27.45% of the cases. Breast lump was the most common presenting symptom …

Transfection Of Il-10 Expression Vectors Into Endothelial Cultures Attenuates Alpha4beta7-Dependent Lymphocyte Adhesion Mediated By Madcam-1., Makoto Sasaki, Paul Jordan, Jeff Houghton, Xianmin Meng, Makoto Itoh, Takashi Joh, J Steven Alexander

Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Biology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Enhanced expression of MAdCAM-1 (mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1) is associated with the onset and progression of inflammatory bowel disease. The clinical significance of elevated MAdCAM-1 expression is supported by studies showing that immunoneutralization of MAdCAM-1, or its ligands reduce inflammation and mucosal damage in models of colitis. Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an endogenous anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory cytokine that has been shown to prevent inflammation and injury in several animal studies, however clinical IL-10 treatment remains insufficient because of difficulties in the route of IL-10 administration and its biological half-life. Here, we examined the ability of introducing an IL-10 expression …

Responsiveness Of Bovine Cumulus-Oocyte-Complexes (Coc) To Porcine And Recombinant Human Fsh, And The Effect Of Coc Quality On Gonadotropin Receptor And Cx43 Marker Gene Mrnas During Maturation In Vitro., Michele D Calder, Anita N Caveney, Lawrence C Smith, Andrew J Watson

Obstetrics & Gynaecology Publications

Substantially less development to the blastocyst stage occurs in vitro than in vivo and this may be due to deficiencies in oocyte competence. Although a large proportion of bovine oocytes undergo spontaneous nuclear maturation, less is known about requirements for proper cytoplasmic maturation. Commonly, supraphysiological concentrations of FSH and LH are added to maturation media to improve cumulus expansion, fertilization and embryonic development. Therefore, various concentrations of porcine FSH (pFSH) and recombinant human FSH (rhFSH) were investigated for their effect on bovine cumulus expansion in vitro. Expression of FSHr, LHr and Cx43 mRNAs was determined in cumulus-oocyte complexes to determine …

Oncolog, Volume 48, Number 02, February 2003, Sunni Hosemann, Dawn Chalaire, Michael J. Miller Md, Facs

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Tissue Engineering: Several Avenues of Research Lead Toward a Single Goal
• Researchers Design a Unique Stereotactic Radiotherapy and Radiosurgery System to Treat Patients with Paraspinal Metastases
• House Call: Women and Lung Cancer: News You Can Use
• DiaLog: Applying Tissue Engineering Techniques in the Clinic and the Laboratory, by Michael J. Miller, MD, FACS, Professor, Department of Plastic Surgery

Hiv Protease Inhibitors Promote Atherosclerotic Lesion Formation Independent Of Dyslipidemia By Increasing Cd36-Dependent Cholesteryl Ester Accumulation In Macrophages, James Dressman, Jeanie Kincer, Sergey V. Matveev, Ling Guo, Richard N. Greenberg, Theresa Guerin, David Meade, Xiang-An Li, Weifei Zhu, Annette M. Uittenbogaard, Melinda E. Wilson, Eric J. Smart

Physiology Faculty Publications

Protease inhibitors decrease the viral load in HIV patients, however the patients develop hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, and atherosclerosis. It has been assumed that protease inhibitor–dependent increases in atherosclerosis are secondary to the dyslipidemia. Incubation of THP-1 cells or human PBMCs with protease inhibitors caused upregulation of CD36 and the accumulation of cholesteryl esters. The use of CD36-blocking antibodies, a CD36 morpholino, and monocytes isolated from CD36 null mice demonstrated that protease inhibitor–induced increases in cholesteryl esters were dependent on CD36 upregulation. These data led to the hypothesis that protease inhibitors induce foam cell formation and consequently atherosclerosis by upregulating CD36 and …

Effects Of Tacrolimus On Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury., Shawn D. St Peter, Adyr A. Moss, David C. Mulligan

Manuscripts, Articles, Book Chapters and Other Papers

In addition to efficacious immunosuppression for the benefit of organ transplantation, tacrolimus has diverse actions that result in amelioration of ischemia-reperfusion injury. Knowledge is accumulating rapidly on the mechanisms through which tacrolimus exerts these cytoprotective effects, including alterations in microcirculation, free radical metabolism, calcium-activated pathways, inflammatory cascades, mitochondrial stability, apoptosis, stress-response proteins, and tissue recovery. Within the nucleus, actions mediating the effects of tacrolimus appear to be dominantly influenced by interactions with the transcription factor, nuclear factor-kappaB. Because tacrolimus is a cornerstone agent in immunosuppression regimens throughout the world and knowledge of its cellular mechanisms is evolving, it is important …

Medical Education Digest, Vol. 5 No. 1 (January 15, 2003), Nova Southeastern University

Medical Education Digest

No abstract provided.

Regulation Of Human Col9a1 Gene Expression. Activation Of The Proximal Promoter Region By Sox9., Ping Zhang, Sergio A. Jimenez, David G Stokes

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

The COL9A1 gene contains two promoter regions, one driving expression of a long alpha1(IX) chain in cartilage (upstream) and one driving expression of a shorter chain in the cornea and vitreous (downstream). To determine how the chondrocyte-specific expression of the COL9A1 gene is regulated, we have begun to characterize the upstream chondrocyte-specific promoter region of the human COL9A1 gene. Transient-transfection analyses performed in rat chondrosarcoma (RCS) cells, human chondrosarcoma (HTB) cells, and NIH/3T3 cells showed that the COL9A1 promoter was active in RCS cells but not HTB or NIH/3T3 cells. Inclusion of the first intron had no effect on promoter …

Synergistic Interactions Of Chlorambucil, Dha, And Trail In Jurkat And H460 Human Cancer Cells, Jennifer Ellen Bush-O'Donnell

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Traditional chemotherapeutic drugs are prone to toxicity and may result in secondary cancers. In recent years much attention has been garnered by alternate methods of cancer treatment with fewer side effects, including immunotherapy and administration of ω-3 fatty acids, both of which have been shown to cause apoptosis in cancer cells. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a fatty acid, is a normal component of cell membranes and is safe for systemic administration. The cytokine TRAIL (tumor necrosis factorrelated apoptosis-inducing ligand) is able to induce apoptosis in cancer cells while sparing normal tissue. In this study, the alkylating agent chlorambucil (CLB) was combined …

Health Professions Division Catalog 2003-2004, Nova Southeastern University

Health Professions Divisions Course Catalogs and Course Descriptions

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Mirthful Laughter On Stress And Natural Killer Cell Activity, Mary P. Bennett, Janice M. Zeller, Lisa Rosenberg, Judith Mccann

Nursing Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Gene × Environment Interactions In Sibships Using Mixed Models, Jill S. Barnholtz-Sloan, Laila M. Poisson, Steven W. Coon, Gary A. Chase, Benjamin A. Rybicki

Wayne State University Associated BioMed Central Scholarship

Abstract

Background

Gene × environment models are widely used to assess genetic and environmental risks and their association with a phenotype of interest for many complex diseases. Mixed generalized linear models were used to assess gene × environment interactions with respect to systolic blood pressure on sibships adjusting for repeated measures and hierarchical nesting structures. A data set containing 410 sibships from the Framingham Heart Study offspring cohort (part of the Genetic Analysis Workshop 13 data) was used for all analyses. Three mixed gene × environment models, all adjusting for repeated measurement and varying levels of nesting, were compared for …

Use Of Folk Remedies Among Patients In Karachi, Pakistan, Waris Qidwai, Sr Alim, Rh Dhanani, S Jehangir, A Nasrullah, A Raza

Department of Family Medicine

BACKGROUND: The concept that food is medicine is being practiced in certain parts of the world, with positive outcomes on health of the population. We have such practice in Pakistan but it needs to be brought in line with the available scientific evidence.
METHODS: The study was conducted on 270 patients, visiting the Family Practice Center, the Aga Khan University, Karachi. A questionnaire was used to collect information on the demographic profile, and the use of folk remedies for medicinal uses.
RESULTS: Substantial use of folk remedies for different medical conditions has been documented. The remedies included cinnamon, ginger, …