Public Health Commons^™

Ata2-Mediated Amino Acid Uptake Following Partial Hepatectomy Is Regulated By Redistribution To The Plasma Membrane, Thomas L. Freeman, Geoffrey M. Thiele, Dean J. Tuma, Tina K. Machu, Mark E. Mailliard

United States Public Health Resources

System A, the Na⁺-dependent amino acid transport activity, is encoded by the ATA2 gene and up-regulated following partial hepatectomy (PH), and its competitive inhibition interferes with liver regeneration. Rabbit polyclonal antibody was raised against a portion of the ATA2 gene product followed by immunodetection of ATA2 in isolated liver plasma membrane and lysate. The level of ATA2 increased in the plasma membrane following PH, while the relatively high quantity of ATA2 found in liver lysate remained constant. We also have shown that Northern analysis of steady-state ATA2 mRNA revealed no significant change following PH. These data show that …

Detection Of Giardia Duodenalis Antigen In Coprolites Using A Commercially Available Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Marcelo Luiz Carvalho Gonçalves, Adauto Araújo, Rosemere Duarte, Joaquim Pereira Da Silva, Karl Reinhard, Françoise Bouchet, Luis Fernando Ferreira

Karl Reinhard Publications

The objective of this experiment was to assess the utility of a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for diagnosis of giardiasis in archaeological human remains. The kit, a monoclonal antibody assay, is used to detect the presence of Giardia-specific antigen 65 (GSA65) in human feces. We utilized the assay in ancient fecal material. The material included desiccated feces found in mummies or in archaeological sites, and sediments from latrines. A total of 83 specimens, previously examined microscopically for parasites, were examined. The ELISA detected 3 positive samples, dated to about 1200 AD, 1600 AD, and 1700 AD. …

Multidisciplinary Coprolite Analysis, Karl Reinhard, Dennis R. Danielson, Mark Daniels, Sérgio Augusto De Miranda Chaves

Karl Reinhard Publications

Coprolite analysis, as reviewed by Reinhard and Bryant (1992), contributes unique and detailed information regarding diet and parasitic disease. We present here an analysis of dietary components of coprolites from Bighorn Cave using macroscopic remains, pollen concentrations, and phytoliths. In addition, we analyzed Bighorn Cave coprolites for evidence of parasitic organisms, especially intestinal worms. Such analyses of coprolites have become important methods for reconstructing past dietary and medicinal practices. Pollen concentration and phytolith quantification techniques have recently been developed, but until this report no known attempt has been made to synthesize pollen, macroscopic, and phytolith data from a single coprolite …

Borrelia Lonestari Infection After A Bite By An Amblyomma Americanum Tick, Angela M. James, Dionysios Liveris, Gary P. Wormser, Ira Schwartz, Marisa A. Montecalvo, Barbara J. B. Johnson

United States Public Health Resources

Erythematous rashes that are suggestive of early Lyme disease have been associated with the bite of Amblyomma americanum ticks, particularly in the southern United States. However, Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, has not been cultured from skin biopsy specimens from these patients, and diagnostic serum antibodies usually have not been found. Borrelia lonestari sp nov, an uncultured spirochete, has been detected in A. americanum ticks by DNA amplification techniques, but its role in human illness is unknown. We observed erythema migrans in a patient with an attached A. americanum tick. DNA amplification of the flagellin gene …

The Unequal Cancer Burden: Efforts Of The Centers For Disease Control And Prevention To Bridge The Gap Through Public Health, Nancy C. Lee

United States Public Health Resources

Despite the broad advances made in cancer research and interventions in the last quarter of a century, inequality still persists as we confront challenges arising from the unequal burden of cancer among Americans. Some racial and ethnic minorities, people with low incomes, those in rural areas, and other medically underserved populations suffer disproportionately from cancer. We know, for example, that African Americans are about 34% more likely to die of cancer than whites and more than two times more likely to die of cancer than Asian/Pacific Islanders, American Indians, or Hispanics.

Disparities also exist among the major racial and ethnic …

Helmet Laws And Motorcycle Rider Death Rates, Charles C. Branas, M. Margaret Knudson

United States Public Health Resources

We investigated motorcycle rider death rates between states with full motorcycle helmet laws and those without. This was done using both unadjusted bivariate analyses and multivariate random-effects generalized least squares regression models of rider death rates. Multivariate models were adjusted for the competing influences of several explanatory variables, including the existence of a motorcycle helmet law. From 1994 to 1996, states with helmet laws experienced a median death rate of 6.20 riders per 10 000 registered motorcycles and states without helmet laws experienced a median death rate of 5.07 riders per 10 000 registered motorcycles (P=0.008). After controlling for other …

Evidence For Nonacetylcholinesterase Targets Of Organophosphorus Nerve Agent: Supersensitivity Of Acetylcholinesterase Knockout Mouse To Vx Lethality, Ellen G. Duysen, Bin Li, Weihua Xie, Lawrence M. Schopfer, Robert S. Anderson, Clarence A. Broomfield, Oksana Lockridge

United States Public Health Resources

The possibility that organophosphate toxicity is due to inhibition of targets other than acetylcholinesterase (AChE, EC 3.1.1.7) was examined in AChE knockout mice. Mice (34–55 days old) were grouped for this study, after it was determined that AChE, butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), and carboxylesterase activities had reached stable values by this age. Mice with 0, 50, or 100% AChE activity were treated subcutaneously with the nerve agent VX. The LD₅₀ for VX was 10 to 12 µg/kg in AChE-/-, 17 µg/kg in AChE+/-, and 24 µg/kg in AChE+/- mice. The same cholinergic signs of toxicity were present in AChE-/- mice as …

Characterization Of Immunoglobulin Binding To Isolated Human Erythrocyte Membranes: Evidence For Selective, Temperature-Induced Binding Of Naturally Occurring Autoantibodies To The Cytoskeleton, James M. Salhany, Karen S. Cordes, Renee L. Sloan

United States Public Health Resources

Human plasma contains naturally occurring autoantibodies to the predominant components of the erythrocyte membrane: band 3 and spectrin bands 1 and 2 of the cytoskeleton. The titer of cytoskeletal plasma autoantibodies increases in various hemolytic conditions, suggesting that opsonization of the cytoskeleton may play an important role in the clearance of hemolyzed (not senescent) erythrocytes from the circulation. In this study, we use Alexa Fluor 488 goat anti-human IgG conjugate (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR, USA), to characterize plasma immunoglobulin binding to erythrocyte membranes from osmotically hemolyzed cells (`ghosts'). The results show that exposure of ghosts to plasma results in 4-fold …

Out Of Africa: Origins Of The Taenia Tapeworms In Humans, Eric P. Hoberg, Nancy L. Alkire, Alan De Queiroz, Arlene Jones

Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology: Faculty Publications

Phylogenetic and divergence date analyses indicate that the occurrence of Taenia tapeworms in humans pre-dates the development of agriculture, animal husbandry and domestication of cattle (Bos spp.) or swine (Sus scrofa) Taeniid tapeworms in Africa twice independently colonized hominids and the genus Homo prior to the origin of modern humans. Dietary and behavioural shifts, from herbivory to scavenging and carnivory, as early Homo entered the carnivore guild in the Pliocene/Pleistocene, were drivers for host switching by tapeworms to hominids from carnivores including hyaenids and felids. Parasitological data provide a unique means of elucidating the historical ecology, foraging behavior …

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

United States Public Health Resources

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 …

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

United States Public Health Resources

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.

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

United States Public Health Resources

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

United States Public Health Resources

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 …

Response To Critique Of The Claim Of Cannibalism At Cowboy Wash, Patricia M. Lambert, Banks L. Leonard, Brian R. Billman, Richard A. Marlar, Margaret E. Newman, Karl J. Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

The original authors of Billman et af. (2000) are joined by three other analysts from the Cowboy Wash research team to respond to the critique of this article by Dongoske et af. (2000). Dongoske and his coauthors state that Billman et af. (2000) failed to test alternative hypotheses or to consider alternative explanations for the findings at 5MTJOOJO and similar sites. The original authors point out that alternative hypotheses were examined and rejected, leaving a violent episode of cannibalism as the most plausible explanation for the remains found at 5MTJOOJO. Dongoske et af. also question many aspects of the osteological, …

‘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

United States Public Health Resources

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

United States Public Health Resources

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

United States Public Health Resources

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

United States Public Health Resources

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 …

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

United States Public Health Resources

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

United States Public Health Resources

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

United States Public Health Resources

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 …

Recognition Of Treponematoses In Post Repatriation X Ray And Cd Rom Nebraska Record, Karl J. Reinhard, Bruce Rothschild, Christine Rothschild, Larry Martin

Karl Reinhard Publications

Repatriation has compromised the opportunity to directly examine skeletons and to apply new diagnostic criteria and techniques. Pre-repatriation approaches to non-metric data acquisition, must make a number of assumptions: ( I ) Phenomena must be correctly identitied and segregated; (2) Criteria for severity must be specific to the phenomena studied; and (3) As criteria for disease rewgnition may change with time, it is valuable only as long as the raw data is also recorded. As part of data preservation, x-rays and CD-ROM images were recorded for skeletons trom Nebraska sites undergoing repatriation. This report concentrates on four of them 250K …

The Role Of Mummy Studies In Paleoparasitology, Adauto Araujo, Karl J. Reinhard, Luiz Fernando Ferreira

Karl Reinhard Publications

Paieoparasitology has advance during the past decade to the status of a statistically based science focused on problems of disease ecology and geographic distribution of parasitism. For most of its development, paleoparasitology has focused on the analysis of coprolites and latrine sediments. During the past few years, mummies have been increasingly included in paleoparasitology studies. We evaluate in this paper the interpretive value of mummies relative to other sources of paleoparasitological data.

EI estudio de la paleoparasitologia ha logrado transformarse, en esta ultima decada, en una ciencia basada en la estadistica, enfocada a temas tales como la ecologia de enfermedades …

Archaeoparasitology, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

The field devoted to the identification of parasite remains in the archaeological record and the reconstruction of past human-parasite interactions. Parasitic disease has always been a major problem. Recent summaries of the prevalence of parasitic diseases in the world today show that there are 4.5 billion infections with all species of parasitic worm, 1 billion infections with giant intestinal roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), 750,000,000 infections with whipworms (Trichuris trichiura), 900,000,000 infections with hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus), 657,000,000 infections with filarial worms, 200,000,000 with blood flukes (schistosome species), and 489,000,000 infections with malaria. These infections cause between 1,590,000 to 3,130,000 …

Coprolite Analysis: The Analysis Of Ancient Human Feces For Dietary Data, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

Although archaeological fieldwork is hot and dirty, the most “earthy” side of the discipline is the laboratory analysis of coprolites. Each coprolite contains the remains of one to several actual meals eaten in prehistory, and analysis of many coprolites provides a picture of ancient diet that is unique in accuracy.

The term coprolite originally referred to fossilized feces in paleontological context. In archaeology, the term broadened to refer to any formed fecal mass, including mineralized, desiccated, or frozen feces and even the intestinal contents of mummies. Coprolites contain the remains of animals (parasites) that lived in the humans, the foods …

Paleopharmacology, Karl Reinhard

Karl Reinhard Publications

An emerging field devoted to the exploration of the archaeological record for evidence of medicinal plants.

In the future, archaeology will have a role in pharmaceutical research. In the late twentieth century, much of the world’s pharmaceutical research has been based on ethnographic documentation of tribally recognized medicinal plants. Once the active chemical compounds in the plants are identified, they are either extracted or synthesized for commercial use. The American film Medicine Man depicts this approach. As shown in the film, such pharmacological research is threatened by declining tribal populations with loss of traditional herbal knowledge coupled with declining biodiversity. …

An Investigation Into The Possibility Of Transmission Of Tick-Borne Pathogens Via Blood Transfusion, P. M. Arguin, J. Singleton, L. D. Rotz, E. Marston, T. A. Treadwell, K. Slater, M. Chamberland, A. Schwartz, L. Tengelsen, J. G. Olson, J. E. Childs

United States Public Health Resources

BACKGROUND: Tick-borne illnesses were diagnosed in a group of National Guard members, including some who had donated blood a few days before the onset of symptoms. A voluntary recall of those blood components was issued and a multistate investigation was conducted to determine if transfusion-transmitted illness had occurred.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Donors and recipients were asked to complete questionnaires regarding symptoms and risk factors for infection and to provide blood samples for laboratory analysis.

RESULTS: Among National Guard personnel who donated blood, 12 individuals were found to have a confirmed or probable case of Rocky Mountain …

An Investigation Into The Possibility Of Transmission Of Tick-Borne Pathogens Via Blood Transfusion, P. M. Arguin, J. Singleton, L. D. Rotz, E. Marston, T. A. Treadwell, K. Slater, M. Chamberland, A. Schwartz, L. Tengelsen, J. G. Olson, J. E. Childs, Transfusion-Associated Tick-Borne Illness Task Force

United States Public Health Resources

BACKGROUND: Tick-borne illnesses were diagnosed in a group of National Guard members, including some who had donated blood a few days before the onset of symptoms. A voluntary recall of those blood components was issued and a multistate investigation was conducted to determine if transfusion-transmitted illness had occurred.
STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Donors and recipients were asked to complete questionnaires regarding symptoms and risk factors for infection and to provide blood samples for laboratory analysis.
RESULTS: Among National Guard personnel who donated blood, 12 individuals were found to have a confirmed or probable case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever or …

Annual Report To The Nation On The Status Of Cancer, 1973–1996, With A Special Section On Lung Cancer And Tobacco Smoking, Phyllis A. Wingo, Lynn A. G. Ries, Gary A. Giovino, Daniel S. Miller, Harry M. Rosenberg, Donald R. Shopland, Michael J. Thun, Brenda K. Edwards

United States Public Health Resources

Background: The American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), provide the second annual report to the nation on progress in cancer prevention and control, with a special section on lung cancer and tobacco smoking.
Methods: Age-adjusted rates (using the 1970 U.S. standard population) were based on cancer incidence data from NCI and underlying cause of death data compiled by NCHS. The prevalence of tobacco use was derived from CDC surveys. Reported P values are two-sided.
Results: From 1990 through 1996, cancer incidence …

American Indians And Crime, Lawrence A. Greenfeld, Steven K. Smith

United States Public Health Resources

This report represents a compilation and new analysis of data on the effects and consequences of violent crime among American Indians. The report uses data from a wide variety of sources, including statistical series maintained by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the FBI, and the Bureau of the Census. Data are reported from American Indian crime victims on how they were affected by the victimization and about who victimized them. The report also includes the first BJS estimates of the total number of American Indians under the custody or supervision of the justice system.
The findings reveal a disturbing …