Publications by authors named "Fischman H"

The fate of coastal ecosystems depends on their ability to keep pace with sea-level rise-yet projections of accretion widely ignore effects of engineering fauna. Here, we quantify effects of the mussel, Geukensia demissa, on southeastern US saltmarsh accretion. Multi-season and -tidal stage surveys, in combination with field experiments, reveal that deposition is 2.

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Restoration efforts have been escalating worldwide in response to widespread habitat degradation. However, coastal restoration attempts notoriously vary in their ability to establish resilient, high-functioning ecosystems. Conventional restoration attempts disperse transplants in competition-minimizing arrays, yet recent studies suggest that clumping transplants to maximize facilitative interactions may improve restoration success.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study details the genome sequences of 14 mycobacteriophages identified using the mc²155 host.
  • Four of these phages are similar to subcluster K1, while the remaining 10 belong to subcluster K6.
  • The phage genomes show significant diversity, featuring various integrases and different integration sites.
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The present investigation examines genotoxic effects of: prolonged periods of stress; the role of the endocrine system; and the relationship between psychogenic stress and chemical mutagens. Increased levels of both Sister Chromatid Exchanges (SCEs) and Chromosome Aberrations (CAs) were observed in male rats subjected to white noise of either 72 or 240 hrs duration, demonstrating that damage occurs during chronic stress. Rats subjected to foot-shock after having been either hypophysectomized or sham-operated, showed elevation of both SCEs and CAs, indicating that hormones in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis do not play a role in genotoxic damage.

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Vitamin A deficiency during tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has not been characterized. A cross-sectional study was conducted among HIV-infected adults with tuberculosis in Butare, Rwanda, in which 29% of the subjects had serum vitamin A levels consistent with deficiency (<1.05 micromol/L).

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In this investigation, rats subjected to swim stress showed within 24 hours significant increases in both the level of chromosome aberrations and Sister Chromatid Exchanges (SCEs) in bone marrow cells. The generality of cytogenetic damage by behavioral stressors was demonstrated by exposing rats to both cold-and warm-water forced swims, to white noise, and to continuous or intermittent inescapable foot shock stress (IFS). The induction of chromosome aberrations and SCEs, to differing degrees, by stressors that differ both quantitatively and qualitatively, demonstrates that this is a general phenomenon of stress.

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The epizootic of rabies in raccoons in Maryland has been accompanied by 129 confirmed cases of rabies in cats from Jan 1, 1983 to Sept 30, 1992 and only 12 cases in dogs. An epidemiologic and clinical study of rabies in cats was conducted for the period Jan 1, 1983 to May 31, 1986. Only 3 of 31 rabid cats had a history of being currently vaccinated against rabies, and 13 were of unknown ownership.

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The epizootic of rabies in raccoons entered Maryland in 1981 and systematically moved through the state affecting raccoons in all counties except those of the lower Eastern Shore. A precoded surveillance form was provided to all county and city health departments and data were requested for each animal head submitted for testing for the year 1985. The disease persisted and, in 1987, all counties previously reporting rabies in raccoons also had documented cases in other species.

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Records from the Maryland Public Health Department were screened for confirmed rodent and lagomorph rabies between 1981 and 1986. Questionnaires were designed for collection of information about events that led to the exposure of human and/or domestic animals to rabid rodent or lagomorphs. These species comprised 1.

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The aim of this pilot was to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating several complementary biologic markers into a molecular epidemiologic study of chemotherapy patients. Thirty-two cancer patients being treated with cis-DDP-based chemotherapy for the first time were enrolled in the study and donated a baseline sample and at least one post-treatment sample of blood. Sister Chromatid Exchange (SCEs) and plasma protein and hemoglobin binding by cisDDP were significantly increased in samples drawn at various timepoints following treatment.

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In a molecular epidemiological study of lung cancer cases (n = 81) and noncancer controls (n = 67), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-DNA adducts were evaluated in peripheral blood leukocytes from all subjects and in a smaller number of lung tissue specimens collected prior to or at surgery. Sister chromatid exchanges (SCE) in lymphocytes were also studied in a subset of cases and controls. Questionnaire, medical record, or tumor registry data provided a family history of cancer, as well as information on cigarette smoking, dietary and occupational exposure to PAHs, and other factors related to SCEs.

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In order to validate markers of internal dose and biologically effective dose of carcinogens, a battery of measurements was made on blood samples from 22 smokers and 24 nonsmokers. The markers included immunoreactivity in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) quantified in white blood cells with the use of a polyclonal anti-benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide-I-DNA antibody, 4-aminobiphenyl hemoglobin (4-ABP-Hb) adducts measured by negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry, sister chromatid exchange (SCE) in cultured lymphocytes, and cotinine in plasma measured by radioimmunoassay. Several blood samples were drawn from each subject.

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Rats subjected to swim stress showed a doubling of sister chromatid exchange (SCE) level. In a second experiment, the generality of SCE induction by behavioral stressors was tested by exposing rats to either swim, white noise, or either continuous or intermittent inescapable footshock stress. The induction of SCEs, although to differing degrees, by qualitatively different stressors, demonstrates that this is a general phenomenon of stress.

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A follow up study of 7261 white women from a meatcutters' union was conducted between July 1949 and December 1980. Proportional mortality ratio (PMR) and standardised mortality ratio (SMR) analyses, using the United States general population mortality rates, were conducted for the group as a whole and for subgroups defined according to the four main job categories in the meat industry, and a fifth category of workers from outside the industry but belonging to the same union (control group). At least a threefold risk of death was observed both for myeloid leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas among workers in the meat department of retail food stores.

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A study was conducted among 13,844 members of a meat-cutter's union, from July 1949 to December 1980, to examine cancer occurrence in the meat industry. Separate analyses were carried out for the whole group, and for subgroups defined by job-categories characteristic of the industry, including a control group. Mortality was compared with that of the United States through the estimation of standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and proportional mortality ratios.

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Six female outpatients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) along with four female controls of a similar age range were analyzed for sister chromatid exchangers (SCEs), cell cycle kinetics, and sensitivity to mutagens, in lymphocyte cultures. The mean level of SCEs for the AD patients was 11.40 SCEs/metaphase, while that for the controls was 9.

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Heroin was administered daily i.v. to pregnant Macaca mulatta monkeys, for 3 months, and after birth of their babies, was continued for 3 months post-partum.

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Recent analysis of the Faroe Islands MS outbreak suggests that initiation of MS could occur at any time of life (before menopause), with puberty acting as an inducer for those with early onset of disease. It was further suggested that disease induction relates to hormonoimmunologic factors. This paper critiques current epidemiologic knowledge of MS and suggest where the Faroe Islands analysis leads.

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The transient, sublethal infection produced by intracerebral inoculation of the Flury high egg passage (HEP) strain of rabies virus into adult mice was converted into a lethal one (approx. 80 to 100% mortality) by administering 150 mg/kg cyclophosphamide (CY) 2 days after infection. Immunosuppressed, infected animals showed no immunological response to rabies and died 15 to 20 days after infection.

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The concept that the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) is dependent on both an environmental factor and host factors associated with the puberty period was tested using the data for the Faroe Islands "outbreak." Although this "outbreak" affected only 25 individuals, its value may be unique since it is the only virgin outbreak described. The population affected demonstrated an age-associated bimodality.

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Establishing a causative relationship for the association between geographic distribution of caves and the occurrence of rabies in foxes in the United States will require the demonstration of a plausible biological mechanism and proof from carefully designed epidemiologic studies. Considerable data implying biological plausibility exists in the form of rabies as an enzootic disease in bats, bat predation by ground animals, bat migratory patterns, and several possible virus transmission routes to the fox. Further data showing development of rabies in the fox following appropriate bat contact are needed.

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