Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Prevalence Of Non-O157:H7 Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli In Diarrheal Stool Samples From Nebraska, Paul Fey, R. S. Wickert, M.E. Rupp, T. J. Safranek, S. H. Hinrichs

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We determined the prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in diarrheal stool samples from Nebraska by three methods: cefixime-tellurite sorbitol MacConkey (CT-SMAC) culture, enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) enzyme immunoassay, and stx_1,2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Fourteen (4.2%) of 335 specimens were positive by at least one method (CT-SMAC culture [6 of 14], EHEC enzyme immunoassay [13 of 14], stx_1,2 PCR [14 of 14]). Six contained serogroup 0157, while non-0157 were as prevalent as 0157 serogroups.

Analysis Of 200 Food Items For Benzo[A]Pyrene And Estimation Of Its Intake Ίη An Epidemiologic Study, Ν. Kazerouni, R. Sinha, Che-Han Hsu, Α. Greenberg, Ν. Rothman

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Animal stιιdies have shown that dietary intake of benzo[α]pyrene (BaP), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (ΡΑΗ), causes increased levels of tumors at several sites, particιιlarly ίη the upper gastrointestinal tract. However, the role of dietary intake of BaP and cancer ίη humans is not clear. We CIeated a BaP database of selected food products that could be lίnl(ed to Food Frequency Qnestionnaires (FFQs) to estimate BaP intake. BaP levels were measnred for each food line-item (composite samples) which consisted of a variety of foods ίη a FFQ. Composite sample parts were derived from the Second National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey …

Cancer Surveillance Series: Non-Hodgkin’S Lymphoma Incidence By Histologic Subtype In The United States From 1978 Through 1995, Frank D. Groves, Martha S. Linet, Lois B. Travis, Susan S. Devesa

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Background: Clinical investigations have shown prognostic heterogeneity within the non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHLs) according to histology, but few descriptive studies have considered NHLs by subgroup. Our purpose is to assess the demographic patterns and any notable increases in population- based rates of different histologic subgroups of NHL.
Methods: Using data collected by the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the National Cancer Institute, we calculated incidence rates for the major clinicopathologic categories of NHL by age, race, sex, geographic area, and time period.
Results: Among the 60 057 NHL cases diagnosed during the period from 1978 through 1995, total incidence …

Drugs In The Heartland: Methamphetamine Use In Rural Nebraska, Denise C. Herz

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A decade ago, methamphetamine was commonly believed to be limited to the West Coast and a few other, isolated areas. Recent evidence shows that substantial proportions of arrestees in several large urban areas of the West and Midwest are using the drug. Increasingly, the problem is coming to the attention of policymakers and law enforcement nationwide. (See “The Federal Government Responds.”)
Methamphetamine has generated concern because of its ready availability and the severity of its effects on the user. It is cheaper than cocaine, it is easy to manufacture, it produces a longer lasting “high,” and its short- and long-term …

Hyperphosphorylation Of The Asialoglycoprotein Receptor In Isolated Rat Hepatocytes Following Ethanol Administration, Benita L. Mcvicker, Dean J. Tuma, Carol A. Casey

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Ethanol administration leads to altered function and impaired receptor-mediated endocytosis of the hepatocyte asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGP-R). The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of ethanol on the phosphorylation of the ASGP-R to determine whether this post-translational modification could contribute mechanistically to the observed ethanol-induced alterations. The methodological approach of this work involved the measurement of the phosphorylation state of the receptor obtained from isolated rat hepatocytes, using a combination of experimental designs from the biosynthetic incorporation of phosphate to the determination of steady-state phosphotyrosine levels. We report here that both short-term (1- to 2-week) and chronic …

Genetic Characterization Of H3n2 Influenza Viruses Isolated From Pigs In North America, 1977–1999: Evidence For Wholly Human And Reassortant Virus Genotypes, Alexander I. Karasin, Melissa M. Schutten, Lynn A. Cooper, Catherine B. Smith, Kanta Subbarao, Gary A. Anderson, Suzanne Carman, Christopher W. Olsen

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Since 1998, H3N2 viruses have caused epizootics of respiratory disease in pigs throughout the major swine production regions of the U.S. These outbreaks are remarkable because swine influenza in North America had previously been caused almost exclusively by H1N1 viruses. We sequenced the full-length protein coding regions of all eight RNA segments from four H3N2 viruses that we isolated from pigs in the Midwestern U.S. between March 1998 and March 1999, as well as from H3N2 viruses recovered from a piglet in Canada in January 1997 and from a pig in Colorado in 1977. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the 1977 …

Lessons Learned In Applying The U.S. Epa Proposed Cancer Guidelines To Specific Compounds, Melvin Andersen, M. Elizabeth Meek, Gary Boorman, David Brusick, Samuel Cohen, Yvonne Dragan, Clay Frederick, Jay Goodman, Gordon Hard, Ellen O'Flaherty, Denise Robinson

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An expert panel was convened to evaluate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Proposed Guidelines for Carcinogen Risk Assessment” through their application to data sets for chloroform (CHCl₃) and dichloroacetic acid (DCA). The panel also commented on perceived strengths and limitations encountered in applying the guidelines to these specific compounds. This latter aspect of the panel’s activities is the focus of this perspective. The panel was very enthusiastic about the evolution of these proposed guidelines, which represent a major step forward from earlier EPA guidance on cancer-risk assessment. These new guidelines provide the latitude to consider diverse scientific data …

‘Gene Shaving’ As A Method For Identifying Distinct Sets Of Genes With Similar Expression Patterns, Trevor Hastie, Robert Tibshirani, Michael B. Eisen, Ash Alizadeh, Ronald Levy, Louis Staudt, Wing C. Chan, David Botstein, Patrick Brown

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Background: Large gene expression studies, such as those conducted using DNA arrays, often provide millions of different pieces of data. To address the problem of analyzing such data, we describe a statistical method, which we have called ‘gene shaving’. The method identifies subsets of genes with coherent expression patterns and large variation across conditions. Gene shaving differs from hierarchical clustering and other widely used methods for analyzing gene expression studies in that genes may belong to more than one cluster, and the clustering may be supervised by an outcome measure. The technique can be ‘unsupervised’, that is, the genes and …

Interleukin-1 Polymorphisms Associated With Increased Risk Of Gastric Cancer, Emad M. El-Omar, Mary Carrington, Wong-Ho Chow, Kenneth E. L. Mccoll, Jay H. Bream, Howard A. Young, Jesus Herrera, Jolanta Lissowska, Chiu-Chin Yuan, Nathaniel Rothman, George Lanyon, Maureen Martin, Joseph F. Fraumeni Jr., Charles S. Rabkin

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Helicobacter pylori infection is associated with a variety of clinical outcomes including gastric cancer and duodenal ulcer disease¹. The reasons for this variation are not clear, but the gastric physiological response is influenced by the severity and anatomical distribution of gastritis induced by H. pylori. Thus, individuals with gastritis predominantly localized to the antrum retain normal (or even high) acid secretion², whereas individuals with extensive corpus gastritis develop hypochlorhydria and gastric atrophy³, which are presumptive precursors of gastric cancer4. Here we report that interleukin-1 gene cluster polymorphisms suspected of enhancing production of interleukin-1-beta …

U.S. Obstetric Procedures, 1998, Sally C. Curtin, T. J. Mathews

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According to the latest birth data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the use of electronic fetal monitoring, ultrasound, stimulation of labor, and induction of labor continued to rise in 1998 to unprecedented levels (1). At the same time, the total cesarean rate, which had fallen each year from 1989 to 1996, rose for the second consecutive year while the primary cesarean rate (rate per 100 births to women with no previous cesarean) rose for the first time during the 1989–1998 period. After increasing by 50 percent between 1989 and 1996, the rate of vaginal birth after previous cesarean …

The Annual Report To The Nation On The Status Of Cancer, 1973– 1997, With A Special Section On Colorectal Cancer, Lynn A. G. Ries, Phyllis A. Wingo, Daniel S. Miller, Holly L. Howe, Hannah K. Weir, Harry M. Rosenberg, Sally W. Vernon, Kathleen Cronin, Brenda K. Edwards

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BACKGROUND. This annual report to the nation addresses progress in cancer prevention and control in the U.S. with a special section on colorectal cancer. This report is the joint effort of the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

METHODS. Age-adjusted rates were based on cancer incidence data from the NCI and NAACCR and underlying cause of death as compiled by NCHS. Joinpoint analysis was based on NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and …