Monocyte chemotactic protein-1 secreted by primary breast tumors stimulates migration of mesenchymal stem cells.

Purpose: Major barriers to effective adenovirus-based gene therapy include induction of an immune response and tumor-specific targeting of vectors. The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) as systemic delivery vehicles for therapeutic genes has been proposed as a result of their combined ability to home in on the tumor site and evade the host immune response. This study is aimed at investigating factors mediating homing of human MSCs to breast cancer primary cultures and cell lines in vitro and in vivo.

Common plantain. A collection of expressed sequence tags from vascular tissue and a simple and efficient transformation method.

The vascular tissue of higher plants consists of specialized cells that differ from all other cells with respect to their shape and size, their organellar composition, their extracellular matrix, the type of their plasmodesmata, and their physiological functions. Intact and pure vascular tissue can be isolated easily and rapidly from leaf blades of common plantain (Plantago major), a plant that has been used repeatedly for molecular studies of phloem transport. Here, we present a transcriptome analysis based on 5,900 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and 3,247 independent mRNAs from the Plantago vasculature.

Addition of a macrolide to a ss-lactam in bacteremic pneumococcal pneumonia.

In the study presented here, data collected prospectively from 340 adult patients hospitalised in five countries with bacteremic pneumococcal CAP and treated with a ss-lactam +/- a macrolide were analysed retrospectively to evaluate the efficacy of this antimicrobial combination. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed no significant effect on case fatality rate when a macrolide/ss-lactam regimen was used as initial therapy. Results were not affected by severity of illness, or by excluding patients who died within 2 days of admission.

Adenovirus-mediated and targeted expression of the sodium-iodide symporter permits in vivo radioiodide imaging and therapy of pancreatic tumors.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the United States. It is highly aggressive with no uniformly effective chemotherapy available for metastatic disease. The sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) is a transmembrane protein responsible for uptake of iodide into cells.

Audit of Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance Service.

The transfer of critically ill patients between hospitals carries significant risk. The Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance Service (MICAS) in Ireland was established in 1996 to provide a ground transfer service between hospitals for critically ill patients. The aim of this audit was to determine if a centralised retrieval system for interhospital transport of critically ill patients in Ireland by MICAS is safe and efficient.

The presence of low IQ and mental retardation among murder defendants referred for pretrial evaluation.

After an overview of definitions of mental retardation and recent case law regarding mental retardation and the death penalty, this paper presents a study of factors associated with a mental retardation (MR) diagnosis among murder defendants. Subjects with a full-scale IQ< or =70 (n=42) were compared with other pretrial murder defendants (n=228) referred for forensic evaluation over a 5-year period. Subjects with an IQ< or =70 who were diagnosed with MR were compared with subjects with an IQ< or =70 who did not receive this diagnosis.

Benchmarking outcome in ICU.

There are as yet few well developed systems for comparing the quality of care in Irish hospitals with other hospitals either nationally or internationally. The best known are the perinatal mortality rates of the Dublin maternity hospitals. Other examples include mortality rates after cardiac surgery and survival rates after cancer surgery.

Sodium iodide symporter-mediated radioiodide imaging and therapy of ovarian tumor xenografts in mice.

Ovarian cancer represents the fifth leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States, with >16 000 deaths expected this year. This study was carried out to investigate the potential of sodium iodide symporter (NIS)-mediated radioiodide therapy as a novel approach for ovarian cancer treatment. Radioiodide is routinely and effectively used for the treatment of benign and malignant thyroid disease as a result of native thyroidal expression of NIS, which mediates iodide uptake.

A preclinical large animal model of adenovirus-mediated expression of the sodium-iodide symporter for radioiodide imaging and therapy of locally recurrent prostate cancer.

The sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) is primarily a thyroid protein, providing for the accumulation of iodide for biosynthesis of thyroid hormones. Native NIS expression has made possible the use of radioactive iodide to image and treat thyroid disease successfully. The current study, using adult male beagle dogs, was carried out in preparation for a Phase I clinical trial of adenovirus-mediated NIS gene (approved symbol SLC5A5) therapy for prostate cancer.

In vivo radioiodide imaging and treatment of breast cancer xenografts after MUC1-driven expression of the sodium iodide symporter.

Purpose: Expression of the sodium iodide symporter (NIS) in the thyroid gland provides for effective imaging and treatment of thyroid cancer using radiolabeled iodide. Transfer of NIS into other tumors would expand the utility of this treatment to tumors of nonthyroid origin. MUC1 is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is overexpressed in many tumor types, including breast, pancreatic, and ovarian.

Environmental disinfection to control equine infectious diseases.

Cleaning and disinfection are essential to the environmental control of infectious diseases of all animals. By understanding the types of pathogens, environment, and disinfection process, success can be attained in effectively stopping disease outbreaks.

Brain death and organ donation: an audit in the Irish National Transplantation and Neurosurgical Centre.

We set out to identify the reasons why potential organ donors (PODs) fail to become actual donors and the causes of under-utilization of organs offered for donation. We audited 354 patients who died in the intensive Care Unit over 18 months. Of 155 PODs, 78 (50%) did not undergo brain stem testing (BST) because of (i) unavoidable death from non-CNS causes before BST (n = 50), (ii) treatment withdrawal without BST (n = 17) and (iii) preconditions for BST were not fulfilled (n = 11).

The ADVIA Centaur infectious disease assays: a technical review.

Bayer Healthcare, Diagnostics Division, has developed several new several new assays for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV 1/O/2 on the ADVIA Centaur Immunoassay system. The panel for detection of markers for hepatitis B infection includes assays for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HBsAg. Confirmatory, antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs), IgM and IgG antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc Total) and IgM antibodies to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc IgM).

Mainstream smoke constituent yields and predicting relationships from a worldwide market sample of cigarette brands: ISO smoking conditions.

The study objective is evaluation of a benchmark approach for predicting mainstream smoke constituent machine-yields for conventional cigarette brands from worldwide markets. Results for ISO smoke yields support the validity of benchmarking when brands, for which yields are to be predicted, have design characteristics within boundaries established by the exploratory brands. Yields of ISO-method mainstream smoke constituents were generally well described by weighted least squares regression relationships with ISO tar (R2>0.

Case-control study of factors associated with excessive proportions of early fetal losses associated with mare reproductive loss syndrome in central Kentucky during 2001.

Objective: To identify factors associated with excessive proportions of early fetal losses associated with mare reproductive loss syndrome in central Kentucky during 2001.

Design: Case-control study.

Procedure: Questionnaires were used to collect information on farm-, pasture-, and individual animal-level factors purportedly associated with mare reproductive loss syndrome.

The First Clinical Skill: Students Teach Students to Take Vital Signs.

Transition from the role of passive student to medical practitioner begins with learning the first clinical skill. This transition can be stressful for those experiencing it and to some extent by those coordinating it. Logistically, it requires demonstration of the techniques to the entire class by a single practitioner or to smaller groups of students by multiple practitioners.

The biotic ligand model: a historical overview.

During recent years, the biotic ligand model (BLM) has been proposed as a tool to evaluate quantitatively the manner in which water chemistry affects the speciation and biological availability of metals in aquatic systems. This is an important consideration because it is the bioavailability and bioreactivity of metals that control their potential to cause adverse effects. The BLM approach has gained widespread interest amongst the scientific, regulated and regulatory communities because of its potential for use in developing water quality criteria (WQC) and in performing aquatic risk assessments for metals.

Nurse practitioners: an evaluation of the extended role of nurses at the Kirketon Road Centre in Sydney, Australia.

The aim of the present study was to formally evaluate the effectiveness, professional appropriateness and acceptability of the extended role of the nurse practitioner at the Kirketon Road Centre (KRC) in Sydney, Australia. Data collection consisted of client and staff surveys and case file review by two assessors (one medical and one nursing). This paper will report on one section of this research, namely the case file review section of the study.

For love or money? An exploratory study of why injecting drug users participate in research.

Aims: To examine injecting drug user (IDU) motivations as research participants.

Design: Convenience sampling facilitated by recruitment notices distributed through needle and syringe programmes (NSPs), and snowballing within peer networks.

Setting: NSPs in six suburbs throughout the Melbourne metropolitan area.