Adenoviral down-regulation of osteopontin inhibits human osteoclast differentiation in vitro.

Although osteopontin (OPN) is highly expressed in osteoclasts, OPN-deficient mice have a near-normal bone phenotype and its role in osteoclast differentiation and function remains uncertain. We used an adenoviral OPN-antisense vector (AdOPN-AS) to down-regulate OPN expression in a human in vitro osteoclastogenesis model employing CFU-GM precursors treated with RANKL and M-CSF. Cultures infected with AdOPN-AS showed reduced secretion of OPN compared to cultures infected with a control adenoviral vector expressing beta-galactosidase.

Anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation in deep subsurface oil reservoirs.

Biodegradation of crude oil in subsurface petroleum reservoirs is an important alteration process with major economic consequences. Aerobic degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons at the surface is well documented and it has long been thought that the flow of oxygen- and nutrient-bearing meteoric waters into reservoirs was necessary for in-reservoir petroleum biodegradation. The occurrence of biodegraded oils in reservoirs where aerobic conditions are unlikely, together with the identification of several anaerobic microorganisms in oil fields and the discovery of anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation mechanisms, suggests that anaerobic degradation processes could also be responsible.

Indications of immune protection from hepatitis C infection.

Hepatitis C affects many millions of people worldwide and is at very high prevalence among people who inject drugs. In our study of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the social networks of injecting drug users (IDUs), five IDUs with injecting careers of 9 years or more were HCV antibody and RNA negative. All injected frequently with HCV RNA-positive IDUs, and two had recently injected with the syringe of an RNA-positive IDU.

Osteoclastic potential of human CFU-GM: biphasic effect of GM-CSF.

Unlabelled: Human osteoclasts can be efficiently generated in vitro from cord blood mononuclear cells and derived CFU-GM colonies. However, CFU-M colonies are poorly osteoclastogenic. Short-term (2-48 h) treatment with GM-CSF stimulates osteoclast formation by proliferating precursors, whereas longer exposure favors dendritic cell formation.

Gene array identification of osteoclast genes: differential inhibition of osteoclastogenesis by cyclosporin A and granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor.

Treatment of adherent peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and receptor activator of NF-kappaB ligand (RANKL) stimulates the formation of multinucleate osteoclast-like cells. Treatment with M-CSF alone results in the formation of macrophage-like cells. Through the use of Atlas human cDNA expression arrays, genes regulated by RANKL were identified.

A general approach to Bayesian networks for the interpretation of evidence.

Bayesian networks (BNs) are mathematically and statistically rigorous techniques for handling uncertainty. The field of forensic science has recently attributed increased attention to the many advantages of this graphical method for assisting the evaluation of scientific evidence. However, the majority of contributions that relate to this topic restrict themselves to the presentation of already "constructed" BNs, and often, only a few explanations are given as to how one obtains a specific BN structure for a given problem.

Influenza A community-acquired pneumonia in East London infants and young children.

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is common in young children, but there are few data in Europe on influenza A virus as a cause of childhood CAP. The aim of this study was to determine the relative contributions of different etiologic agents to CAP in children.

Methods: This was a 6-month prospective study of pediatric accident and emergency and general practice consultations with a diagnosis of CAP.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections in health care workers (HCWs): guidelines for prevention of transmission of HBV and HCV from HCW to patients.

The transmission of viral hepatitis from health care workers (HCW) to patients is of worldwide concern. Since the introduction of serologic testing in the 1970s there have been over 45 reports of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission from HCW to patients, which have resulted in more than 400 infected patients. In addition there are six published reports of transmissions of hepatitis C virus (HCV) from HCW to patients resulting in the infection of 14 patients.

Investigation of infection control practices and knowledge of hepatitis C among body-piercing practitioners.

Background: Body piercing has become increasingly popular, leading to concerns about the associated risk of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission during piercing. Many body-piercing practitioners (BPPs) have recently entered the industry but little is known about their training and understanding of HCV transmission. This study measured BPP knowledge about HCV and infection control procedures.

A graphical model for the evaluation of cross-transfer evidence in DNA profiles.

The role of graphical models in the assessment of transfer evidence is described with particular reference to the role of cross-transfer evidence. The issues involved in the determination of factors (nodes), associations (links) and probabilities to be included are discussed. Four types of subjective probabilities are of particular interest: those for transfer, persistence and recovery; innocent acquisition; relevance; innocent presence.

Ethnicity and discordance in plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load and CD4+ lymphocyte count in a cohort of HIV-1-infected individuals.

Background: Guidelines for commencing therapy for HIV infection have been based upon HIV-1 RNA and CD4 lymphocyte thresholds. The influence of confounding factors such as gender, ethnicity and co-infections is unproven.

Objectives: To analyse ethnic discordance in plasma HIV-1 viral load (VL) and CD4+ count and its potential clinical significance in Black and Caucasian groups.

How the probability of a false positive affects the value of DNA evidence.

Errors in sample handling or test interpretation may cause false positives in forensic DNA testing. This article uses a Bayesian model to show how the potential for a false positive affects the evidentiary value of DNA evidence and the sufficiency of DNA evidence to meet traditional legal standards for conviction. The Bayesian analysis is contrasted with the "false positive fallacy," an intuitively appealing but erroneous alternative interpretation.

Estimation of the quantity of a drug in a consignment from measurements on a sample.

A consignment of individual packages is thought to contain illegal material, such as drugs, in some or all of the packages. A sample from the consignment is inspected and the quantity of drugs in each package of the sample is measured. It is desired to estimate the total quantity of drugs in the consignment.

Peer-delivered hepatitis C testing and counselling: a means of improving the health of injecting drug users.

We hypothesized that providing injecting drug users (IDUs) with free hepatitis C testing and counselling at a needle and syringe programme (NSP) would be an effective model. Between August 1999 and January 2000, our peer outreach worker offered these services from a busy NSP in western Melbourne. Over 300 counselling episodes were provided, and 47 IDUs who were not tested in the previous 12 months were given tests and full pre- and post-test counselling, and were interviewed about reasons for not being tested, their knowledge of hepatitis C, and their risk behaviour.

Tumor localization and image registration of F-18 FDG coincidence detection scans with computed tomographic scans.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of registering routine clinical F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) coincidence detection (CD) scans with computed tomographic (CT) scans for radiation treatment planning and case management.

Methods: F-18 FDG CD and chest CT scans, performed in 10 randomly selected patients with confirmed or possible adenocarcinoma of the lung, were evaluated. The quality of the matches was verified by comparisons of the center-to-center distance between a region of interest (ROI) manually drawn on the CT slice and warped onto the CD slice with an ROI drawn manually directly on the CD slice.

Congenital rubella syndrome: a risk in immigrant populations.

An infant with congenital rubella syndrome was born to a young mother who had recently arrived in the UK. The infection was not detected before birth, and transmission to another infant was documented. This case highlights the emerging importance of rubella as an imported infection in the developed world and the need to maintain a high index of suspicion for this disorder in recent immigrants from countries with no immunisation programme.

Pumping iron, risking infection? Exposure to hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV among anabolic-androgenic steroid injectors in Victoria, Australia.

Aims: To measure exposure to the hepatitis C and B viruses and HIV among Victorian steroid injectors and evaluate associations between exposure and risk behaviour, and report other characteristics of the study group.

Design: Seroprevalence study using a convenience sample.

Setting: Victoria, Australia.

Leptin inhibits osteoclast generation.

Originally, leptin was described as a product of adipocytes that acts on the hypothalamus to regulate appetite. However, subsequently, it has been shown that leptin receptors are distributed widely and that leptin has diverse functions, including promotion of hemopoietic and osteoblastic differentiation. It has been recognized for some time that both serum leptin and bone mass are correlated positively to body fat mass and, recently, we have shown a direct positive relationship between serum leptin and bone mass in nonobese women.

The detection of Chlamydia trachomatis by DNA amplification methods in urine samples from men with urethritis.

Our objective was to compare 3 deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) amplification methods for the diagnosis of chlamydial infection with an enhanced enzyme immunoassay (EIA) method for antigen detection in urine samples, from men with non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) attending a busy inner city genitourinary medicine centre. Urethral swabs and urine samples were collected from 346 male patients with NGU attending the clinic. All swabs and urines were tested for chlamydial infection (CT) using the EIA (Dako PCE immunoassay).

Reactivation of precore variant hepatitis B virus in a child with severe aplastic anaemia.

Reactivation of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) negative chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection due to selection of precore variant virus is an uncommon complication of previous hepatitis B infection, and virtually unrecognised in children and adolescents. A child who had received treatment with methylprednisolone and antilymphocyte globulin for severe aplastic anaemia developed high levels of detectable HBV DNA associated with hepatitis B e antibody (anti-HBe) positivity. HBV DNA was extracted, amplified and the core and precore regions sequenced from 2 samples.

Nosocomial spread of viral disease.

Viruses are important causes of nosocomial infection, but the fact that hospital outbreaks often result from introduction(s) from community-based epidemics, together with the need to initiate specific laboratory testing, means that there are usually insufficient data to allow the monitoring of trends in incidences. The most important defenses against nosocomial transmission of viruses are detailed and continuing education of staff and strict adherence to infection control policies. Protocols must be available to assist in the management of patients with suspected or confirmed viral infection in the health care setting.

Overcoming barriers to hepatitis B immunisation by a dedicated hepatitis B immunisation service.

Aims: To determine the effectiveness of a selective hospital based hepatitis B immunisation programme and the barriers to be overcome in obtaining a successful outcome.

Methods: Retrospective case note review of 265 infants born over a five year period to hepatitis B carrier mothers at a university affiliated hospital in Hackney, London.

Results: A total of 242 infants (91%) were fully vaccinated; 217 (82%) had serology; 31 required booster doses.