Body mass index as a prognostic feature in operable breast cancer: the International Breast Cancer Study Group experience.

Background: Current information on the prognostic importance of body mass index (BMI) for patients with early breast cancer is based on a variety of equivocal reports. Few have data on BMI in relationship to systemic treatment.

Patients And Methods: Patients (6792) were randomized to International Breast Cancer Study Group trials from 1978 to 1993, studying chemotherapy and endocrine therapy.

Comparison of HIV infection risk behaviors among injection drug users from East and West Coast US cities.

This study assessed whether behavioral differences explained higher human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) seroprevalence among injection drug users (IDUs) in three East Coast versus two West Coast cities in the United States. Sociodemographic, sexual, and injecting information were collected during semiannual face-to-face interviews. Baseline data from New York City; Baltimore, Maryland; and New Haven, Connecticut, were compared with data from Los Angeles, California, and San Jose, California.

Is there an increased risk of knee osteoarthritis among farmers? A population-based case-control study.

Objectives: Occupational workload is generally considered a to be contributing cause in the development of knee osteoarthritis, in addition to well-known risk factors such as age, female gender, excess weight and previous knee injuries. Farmers have an increased risk of developing hip osteoarthritis, but it is uncertain if farming is influencing the occurrence of knee osteoarthritis. The aim of this population-based case-control study was to investigate the risk of radiographically verified femorotibial osteoarthritis among farmers and those in some other physically demanding occupations.

Decrease in the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation as the initially observed arrhythmia after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest during 11 years in Sweden.

Aim: To describe the change in the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation as initially observed arrhythmia among patients suffering from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Sweden.

Patients: All patients included in the Swedish cardiac arrest registry between 1991 until 2001. The registry covers 85% of the population in Sweden.

Is female sex associated with increased survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest?

Aim: To evaluate survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in relation to sex.

Methods: All patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest included in the Swedish Cardiac Arrest Registry between 1990 and 2000 in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted and who did not have a crew witnessed arrest were included. The registry covers 85% of the inhabitants of Sweden (approximately 8 million inhabitants).

Osteoarthritis of the hip joint and farm work.

Background: Different types of farming and farm work were studied in relation to the occurrence of osteoarthritis of the hip joint in a cohort of farmers.

Methods: A group of 427 farmers with hip joint osteoarthritis were identified together with a matched control group of farmers without hip or knee problems. All were invited to an interview and physical examination.

Mortality rates and causes of death in a cohort of HIV-infected and uninfected women, 1993-1999.

HIV/AIDS-associated and non-HIV/AIDS-associated death rates and causes of death between 1993 and 1999 were examined in 885 HIV-infected women and 425 uninfected women of the HIV Epidemiology Research Study cohort. Causes of death were determined by review of death certificates and the National Death Index. Adjusted hazard ratios were calculated for mortality risk factors.

Localization of neuropeptide Y receptor Y5 mRNA in the guinea pig brain by in situ hybridization.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has prominent stimulatory effects on food intake in virtually all animals that have been studied. In mammals, the effect is primarily mediated by receptors Y1 and Y5, which seem to contribute to different aspects of feeding behavior in guinea pigs and rats/mice. Interestingly, differences in receptor distribution among mammalian species have been reported.

The impact of physical work exposure on musculoskeletal symptoms among farmers and rural non-farmers.

In order to evaluate the impact of physical work exposure on differences in musculoskeletal symptom reported among Swedish farmers and referents, a cross-sectional, population-based cohort study was performed. Male farmers (N = 1221) and matched non-farmers (N = 1130) were invited to take part a survey in which 76 % participated. The analyses were based on 657 matched pairs.

Rates and risk factors for condition-specific hospitalizations in HIV-infected and uninfected women.

Background: The rates and risk factors for overall and medical condition-specific hospitalizations in HIV-positive women have not been examined in detail or compared with rates in risk factor-matched HIV-negative women.

Objective: To determine the rates and risk factors for overall and condition-specific hospitalizations.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of 885 HIV-positive women and 425 HIV-negative women followed for semiannual research visits between 1993 and 2000 in 4 urban locations in the United States.

Mediator influences Schizosaccharomyces pombe RNA polymerase II-dependent transcription in vitro.

The fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe has proved an important model system for cross-species comparative studies of many fundamental processes in the eukaryotic cell, such as cell cycle control and DNA replication. The RNA polymerase II transcription machinery is, however, still relatively poorly understood in S. pombe, partially due to the absence of a reconstituted in vitro transcription system.

A short delay from out of hospital cardiac arrest to call for ambulance increases survival.

Aim: To describe the relative impact on survival of the delay from estimated time of collapse to call for an ambulance among patients who suffer from a bystander witnessed out of hospital cardiac arrest of a cardiac aetiology.

Methods: A majority of all ambulance organizations in Sweden (covering 85% of Sweden inhabitants) participate in a National survey of out of hospital cardiac arrest.

Results: In all there were 9340 patients with a bystander witnessed cardiac arrest of a cardiac aetiology in whom cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was attempted participating in this survey.

Factors at resuscitation and outcome among patients suffering from out of hospital cardiac arrest in relation to age.

Aim: To describe various factors at resuscitation and outcome among patients suffering from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in relation to age.

Patients: All patients included in the Swedish Cardiac Arrest Registry during the period 1990-1999. The registry covers about 60% of all ambulance organisations in Sweden.

Factors associated with maintenance of long-term plasma human immunodeficiency virus RNA suppression.

To analyze factors associated with long-term (>or=2 years) suppression of virus load (VL), we performed a nested case-control analysis of 1235 Human Immunodeficiency Virus Outpatient Study cohort participants who were well characterized by multiple VL and CD4(+) cell count determinations. Of these patients, 286 (23.1%) had maintained undetectable VLs (i.

Air flow and particle control with different ventilation systems in a classroom.

Most ventilation and air conditioning systems are designed without much concern about how settling particles behave in ventilation air flows. For displacement ventilation systems, designers normally assume that all pollutants follow the buoyant air flow into an upper zone, where they are evacuated. This is, however, not always true.

TRAP230/ARC240 and TRAP240/ARC250 Mediator subunits are functionally conserved through evolution.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae Mediator, a subgroup of proteins (Srb8, Srb9, Srb10, and Srb11) form a module, which is involved in negative regulation of transcription. Homologues of Srb10 and Srb11 are found in some mammalian Mediator preparations, whereas no clear homologues have been reported for Srb8 and Srb9. Here, we identify a TRAP240/ARC250 homologue in Schizosaccharomyces pombe and demonstrate that this protein, spTrap240, is stably associated with a larger form of Mediator, which also contains conserved homologues of Srb8, Srb10, and Srb11.

Survival benefit of initiating antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected persons in different CD4+ cell strata.

Background: Optimal timing of antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation for HIV-infected persons remains unclear.

Objective: To assess survival benefit of initiating ART at different CD4+ cell counts.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Risk factors for locoregional recurrence among breast cancer patients: results from International Breast Cancer Study Group Trials I through VII.

Purpose: To explore prognostic factors for locoregional failures (LRF) among women treated for invasive breast cancer within clinical trials of adjuvant therapies.

Patients And Methods: The study population consisted of 5,352 women who were treated with a modified radical mastectomy and enrolled in one of seven International Breast Cancer Study Group randomized trials. A total of 1,275 women with node-negative disease received either no adjuvant therapy or a single cycle of perioperative chemotherapy, and 4,077 women with node-positive disease received adjuvant chemotherapy of at least 3 months' duration and/or tamoxifen.

Development of proteinuria or elevated serum creatinine and mortality in HIV-infected women.

Background: Data on the incidence and prognostic significance of renal dysfunction in HIV disease are limited.

Objective: To determine the incidence of proteinuria and elevated serum creatinine in HIV-positive and HIV-negative women and to determine whether these abnormalities are predictors of mortality or associated with causes of death listed on the death certificate in HIV-positive women.

Design: The incidence of proteinuria or elevated serum creatinine and mortality was assessed in a cohort of 885 HIV-positive women and 425 at-risk HIV-negative women.

Influence of coinfection with hepatitis C virus on morbidity and mortality due to human immunodeficiency virus infection in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy.

To ascertain the impact of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease progression and associated death in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), we examined mortality rates, the presence of other diseases, and antiretroviral use in an observational cohort of 823 HIV-infected patients with and without HCV coinfection during the period of January 1996 through June 2001. Analyses were used to compare patient characteristics, comorbid conditions, and survival durations in HIV-infected and HIV-HCV-coinfected patients. HIV-HCV-coinfected persons did not have a statistically greater rate of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or of renal or cardiovascular disease, but they did have more cases of cirrhosis and transaminase elevations.

Incidence of and risk factors for lipoatrophy (abnormal fat loss) in ambulatory HIV-1-infected patients.

To identify clinical factors associated with the incidence of HIV-1-associated lipoatrophy, HIV-1-infected patients in the HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS) were prospectively evaluated for clinical signs of lipoatrophy at two visits about 21 months apart. Development of lipoatrophy was analyzed in stratified and multivariate analyses for its relationship to immunologic, virologic, clinical, and drug treatment information for each patient. Of 337 patients with no lipoatrophy at Survey 1, 44 (13.

Protease inhibitors and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with HIV-1.

Protease inhibitors for treatment of HIV-1 have been linked with increased risk of hyperlipidaemia and hyperglycaemia. In a cohort of 5672 outpatients with HIV-1 seen at nine US HIV clinics between January, 1993, and January, 2002, the frequency of myocardial infarctions increased after the introduction of protease inhibitors in 1996 (test for trend, p=0.0125).