Predictors of complications in therapeutic plasma exchange.

Plasma exchange (PE) is used for blood purification to modulate proteins involved in pathological processes. As the number of patients receiving PE treatment and the heterogeneity of the underlying diseases is steadily increasing, we evaluated the most frequent complications and analyzed causes leading to adverse reactions. 883 PE procedures in 113 patients between the years 2000 to 2006 were retrospectively analyzed with respect to complications.

Ambiguity advantage revisited: two meanings are better than one when accessing Chinese nouns.

This paper revisits the effect of lexical ambiguity in word recognition, which has been controversial as previous research reported advantage, disadvantage, and null effects. We discuss factors that were not consistently treated in previous research (e.g.

Using surveillance data to monitor entry into care of newly diagnosed HIV-infected persons: San Francisco, 2006-2007.

Background: Linkage to care after HIV diagnosis is associated with both clinical and public health benefits. However, ensuring and monitoring linkage to care by public health departments has proved to be a difficult task. Here, we report the usefulness of routine monitoring of CD4 T cell counts and plasma HIV viral load as measures of entry into care after HIV diagnosis.

Evaluation of a new point-of-care serologic assay for herpes simplex virus type 2 infection.

Herpes simplex virus type 2 infection is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases. Because presentation is often atypical or subclinical, serologic testing is necessary for diagnosis, treatment, and counseling. In an urban clinic that specializes in the treatment of sexually transmitted disease, a new point-of-care rapid serologic test was compared with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay or Western blot for the detection of herpes simplex virus type 2.

Limited knowledge and use of HIV post- and pre-exposure prophylaxis among gay and bisexual men.

Background: Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is currently recommended after certain high-risk exposures, and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is undergoing evaluation in clinical trials. Media reports have suggested substantial levels of community PrEP use despite its unproven effectiveness.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1819 HIV-uninfected gay/bisexual men in California to assess PEP and PrEP awareness and use.

High prevalence of gonococcal and chlamydial infection in men who have sex with men with newly diagnosed HIV infection: an opportunity for same-day presumptive treatment.

Background: The increasing use of point-of-care HIV tests in sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinics allows for rapid identification of patients with newly diagnosed HIV infection who may also be at risk for more common sexually transmitted infections. Positive point-of-care HIV test results might be used to identify and provide presumptive treatment to patients who are likely to be coinfected with gonorrhea (GC) and chlamydia (CT).

Methods: Data from 6864 STD clinic visits by men who have sex with men (MSM) with no history of HIV infection and an HIV antibody test at that visit were analyzed.

Youth in foster care with adult mentors during adolescence have improved adult outcomes.

Objective: The goal of this study was to determine whether youth in foster care with natural mentors during adolescence have improved young adult outcomes.

Methods: We used data from waves I to III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (1994-2002). Individuals who reported that they had ever been in foster care at wave III were included.

HIV partner notification outcomes for HIV-infected patients by duration of infection, San Francisco, 2004 to 2006.

Background: The San Francisco Department of Public Health conducts HIV third-party partner notification in the following populations based on standard Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines: (1) persons with acute and nonacute incident HIV infection tested at the municipal sexually transmitted disease (STD) clinic and the county hospital and (2) all county residents with early syphilis and long-standing HIV infection.

Methods: We reviewed routinely collected demographic and partner notification outcome data among acute and nonacute cases between 2004 and 2006 and among long-standing cases between July 2005 and December 2006. Outcomes were examined among the 3 case types.

Predictors of incident herpes simplex virus type 2 infections in young women at risk for unintended pregnancy in San Francisco.

Background: Young women receiving family planning services are at risk for both unintended pregnancy and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis using data from a previously published randomized controlled trial evaluating access to emergency contraception on reproductive health outcomes. Women aged 15 to 24 years were recruited from two Planned Parenthood clinics and two community health clinics in San Francisco.

The use and performance of oral-throat rinses to detect pharyngeal Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis infections.

Gonococcal and chlamydial infections in the pharynx can occur as a consequence of oral sex. Currently, diagnosis of these infections typically requires a swab specimen to be collected from the posterior pharynx. However, we assessed the diagnostic adequacy of using commercial mouthwash or water as an oral-throat rinse and subsequent testing with a nucleic acid amplification test (Gen-Probe APTIMA Combo 2 assay; Gen-Probe, San Diego, CA).

A model for sustainable short-term international medical trips.

The health status of many people in developing countries is often dismal compared with the norms in industrialized countries. Increasingly, medical practitioners in the United States and other industrialized countries have become interested in global health issues, an interest that often takes the form of short-term international medical trips. We discuss several ethical issues associated with participation in such trips and use our experiences in developing the Children's Health International Medical Project of Seattle (CHIMPS) to outline and illustrate a set of 7 guiding principles for making these trips.

Indicators of use of methamphetamine and other substances among men who have sex with men, San Francisco, 2003-2006.

Background: Substance use has been associated with high-risk sexual behavior among men who have sex with men (MSM) both in the U.S. and around the world.

The acceptability and feasibility of the Positive Reinforcement Opportunity Project, a community-based contingency management methamphetamine treatment program for gay and bisexual men in San Francisco.

The Positive Reinforcement Opportunity Project (PROP) was a pilot program developed to build on the efficacy of contingency management (CM) using positive reinforcement to address the treatment needs of gay and bisexual men currently using crystal methamphetamines (meth). It was hypothesized that a version of CM could be implemented in San Francisco that was less costly than traditional treatment methods and reached gay and other MSM using meth who also engaged in high-risk sexual activity. Of the 178 men who participated in PROPfrom December 2003 to December 2005, many self-reported behaviors for acquiring and spreading sexually transmitted diseases including HIV infection.

Trends in the use of sexually transmitted disease diagnostic technologies in California, 1996-2003.

Objective: To describe trends in STD diagnostic test volume and test technology in California from 1996 to 2003.

Study: A self-administered survey was mailed annually to licensed clinical laboratories in California that performed STD testing. Data were collected on volume and diagnostic test type for chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, chancroid, HIV, hepatitis B, herpes simplex virus (HSV), and human papilloma virus (HPV).

Healthy Penis: San Francisco's social marketing campaign to increase syphilis testing among gay and bisexual men.

The authors describe the development, implementation, and evaluation of their innovative social marketing campaign.

Influence of attended repetition trials on negative priming in younger and older adults.

A lengthened response time when a distractor becomes a target, called negative priming, is an undisputed phenomenon in selective attention, yet just what the underlying mechanism responsible for negative priming is has not been resolved. In this study, the proportion of attended repetition trials was manipulated in order to test the predictions of three theories that have been proposed for explaining spatial negative priming: distractor suppression (e.g.

Functional MRI of conventional and anomalous metaphors in Mandarin Chinese.

This study looks at whether conventional and anomalous metaphors are processed in different locations in the brain while being read when compared with a literal condition in Mandarin Chinese. We find that conventional metaphors differ from the literal condition with a slight amount of increased activation in the right inferior temporal gyrus. In addition, when the anomalous metaphor condition is compared with the literal condition, increased activation occurs bilaterally in the frontal and temporal gyri.

Tissues and signals involved in the induction of placodal Six1 expression in Xenopus laevis.

Ectodermal placodes, from which many cranial sense organs and ganglia develop, arise from a common placodal primordium defined by Six1 expression. Here, we analyse placodal Six1 induction in Xenopus using microinjections and tissue grafts. We show that placodal Six1 induction occurs during neural plate and neural fold stages.

Effects of azathioprine and its metabolites on repair mechanisms of the intestinal epithelium in vitro.

Erosions and ulcerations of the intestinal epithelium are hallmarks of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Intestinal epithelial cell migration (restitution) and proliferation are pivotal mechanisms for healing of epithelial defects after mucosal injury. In addition, the rate of apoptosis of epithelial cells may modulate intestinal wound healing.

Current flow in vibrissa motor cortex can phase-lock with exploratory rhythmic whisking in rat.

Rats explore their environment with rhythmic sweeps of their mystacial vibrissae in the range of 5-15 Hz. We tested if vibrissa primary motor (M1) cortex produces electrical activity that locks to this behavioral output. Rats were trained to whisk in air in search of a food reward.

Molecular anatomy of placode development in Xenopus laevis.

We analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern of expression of 15 transcription factors (Six1, Six4, Eya1, Sox3, Sox2, Pax6, Pax3, Pax2, Pax8, Dlx3, Msx1, FoxI1c, Tbx2, Tbx3, Xiro1) during placode development in Xenopus laevis from neural plate to late tail bud stages. Out of all genes investigated, only the expression of Eya1, Six1, and Six4 is maintained in all types of placode (except the lens) throughout embryonic development, suggesting that they may promote generic placodal properties and that their crescent-shaped expression domain surrounding the neural plate defines a panplacodal primordium from which all types of placode originate. Double-labeling procedures were employed to reveal the precise position of this panplacodal primordium relative to neural plate, neural crest, and other placodal markers.

DRAQ5-based DNA content analysis of hematolymphoid cell subpopulations discriminated by surface antigens and light scatter properties.

Background: Analysis of cell cycle kinetics offers important information regarding the behavior of normal and neoplastic cells. Most often, cell cycle determinations by flow cytometry (FCM) have been performed using whole-sample analysis with intercalating dyes like propidium iodide (PI). The cell cycle phase assessment in individual cell subsets in heterogeneous samples is best performed using combined antigen/scatter and DNA analysis.