Demographic, clinical, and virologic characteristics of African-born persons with HIV/AIDS in a Minnesota hospital.

Minnesota is currently home to the tenth largest African population and the second largest East African population in the United States. HIV is increasingly being diagnosed in African-born persons in Minnesota. A retrospective survey was conducted on all African-born patients in our HIV clinic between January 1994 and June 2005.

Role of AMP-activated protein kinase in exercise capacity, whole body glucose homeostasis, and glucose transport in skeletal muscle -insight from analysis of a transgenic mouse model-.

To examine the role of muscle AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in maximal exercise capacity, whole body glucose homeostasis, and glucose transport in skeletal muscle, we generated muscle-specific transgenic mice carrying cDNAs of inactive AMPK alpha2 (alpha2i TG). Fed blood glucose was slightly higher in alpha2i TG mice compared to wild type littermates, however, the difference was not statistically significant. In alpha2i TG mice, glucose tolerance was slightly impaired in male, but not in female mice, compared to wild type littermates.

AMP-activated protein kinase alpha2 activity is not essential for contraction- and hyperosmolarity-induced glucose transport in skeletal muscle.

To examine the role of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in muscle glucose transport, we generated muscle-specific transgenic mice (TG) carrying cDNAs of inactive alpha2 (alpha2i TG) and alpha1 (alpha1i TG) catalytic subunits. Extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles from wild type and TG mice were isolated and subjected to a series of in vitro incubation experiments. In alpha2i TG mice basal alpha2 activity was barely detectable, whereas basal alpha1 activity was only partially reduced.

The epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea in Latin America. Anticipating rotavirus vaccines.

Objective: To assess the disease burden and characterize the epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea in Latin America.

Methods: We conducted a literature review of studies of children < 5 years of age who were hospitalized or seen as outpatients for diarrhea and for whom rotavirus was sought as the etiologic agent of the diarrhea. This review included inpatient and outpatient studies published since 1998 that included at least 100 children and reported surveillance activities lasting at least 12 consecutive months.

Evaluation of the virological and metabolic effects of switching protease inhibitor combination antiretroviral therapy to nevirapine-based therapy for the treatment of HIV infection.

In spite of indisputable benefits, the use of antiretroviral therapy is associated with multiple metabolic complications. Switching to simpler regimens might maintain viral suppression, improve metabolic side effects, and provide insight into the pathogenesis of these complications. Our objective was to carefully characterize the virological and metabolic effects of switching from a successful protease inhibitor (PI)-based antiretroviral regimen to a nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based regimen with nevirapine (NVP).

Evaluation and comparison of two commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits for detection of antigenically diverse human noroviruses in stool samples.

Two recently commercialized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits, the SRSV(II)-AD (Denka Seiken Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan) and IDEIA NLV (DakoCytomation Ltd.

Mitoxantrone and methotrexate chemotherapy with and without mitomycin C in the regional treatment of locally advanced breast cancer.

Fifty patients with locally advanced breast cancer received regional chemotherapy delivered angiographically via the internal mammary artery and varying vessels supplying the lateral aspect of the breast. Thirty three patients received mitomycin C, methotrexate and mitoxantrone, and 17 patients received methotrexate and mitoxantrone only. There was no significant difference in clinical response between the two groups.

Morphological observations on Brevipalpus phoenicis (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) including comparisons with B. californicus and B. obovatus.

The genus Brevipalpus has over 300 species worldwide. The three most important agricultural pest species in the genus, Brevipalpus californicus (Banks), B. obovatus Donnadieu, and B.

The Effect of a Neoprene Shoulder Stabilizer on Active Joint-Reposition Sense in Subjects With Stable and Unstable Shoulders.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of shoulder bracing on active joint-reposition sense in subjects with stable and unstable shoulders. DESIGN AND SETTING: Two subject groups, with stable and unstable shoulders, participated in an active joint-reposition test of the shoulder under braced and unbraced conditions. SUBJECTS: Forty subjects (22 men, 18 women; age = 21.

Diesel exhaust particle-induced alterations of pulmonary phase I and phase II enzymes of rats.

Although diesel exhaust particles (DEP) are known to produce pulmonary disorders, the xenobiotic metabolic pathways associated with DEP detoxification and bioactivation remain unclear. In this study, the effect of acute exposure of DEP on phase I and phase II enzymes of rat lung was investigated. Intratracheal administration of DEP produced an induction of cytochrome P-450 (CYP) 1A1 enzyme protein and activity at 1 d postexposure, with the enzyme level returning to control at 5 d postexposure.

The onset of the excess of childhood cancer in Seascale, Cumbria.

Background: The objective of this study was to formally investigate the onset of the Seascale cluster of childhood and young person's cancer. This has not previously been attempted.

Methods: A mortality study within the Whitehaven registration district was set up and death records were abstracted for 1906-1970.

Pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in an adult forearm: a case report.

Pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a rare malignancy, and treatment protocols for this tumor are not established. Although Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study data have led to improvement in overall and disease-free survival for children with juvenile RMS, the applicability of those findings to adult pleomorphic RMS is uncertain. This report presents the case of a 29-year-old man with pleomorphic RMS of the forearm (a location not previously reported in current literature); reviews the immunohistochemical, ultrastructural, and histologic diagnostic criteria; and discusses treatment.

Interaction of morphine and naltrexone on oral ethanol self-administration in rhesus monkeys.

Opioid antagonists, such as naltrexone (NTX), reduce ethanol consumption and opioid agonists increase or decrease ethanol consumption in rats depending upon the dose. If the opioid antagonist and agonist effects on ethanol consumption are mediated by mu-opioid receptors, then NTX doses that reduce ethanol consumption should be similar to the doses necessary to antagonize the effects of opioid agonists on ethanol consumption. The purpose of these experiments was: (1) to determine whether morphine increases ethanol consumption in rhesus monkeys as it does in rodents; (2) to determine if the mu-receptor mediates the effects of morphine on ethanol consumption by conducting a pK(B) analysis using NTX; and (3) to determine if the mu-receptor also mediates the NTX-induced decreases in ethanol consumption by making comparisons between the NTX doses that affect ethanol consumption and the NTX doses that block the effects of morphine on ethanol consumption.

Epstein-Barr Virus and HLA-DPB1-*0301 in young adult Hodgkin's disease: evidence for inherited susceptibility to Epstein-Barr Virus in cases that are EBV(+ve).

Cases of Hodgkin's disease (HD) may be distinguished by whether they do [EBV-positive ((+ve)) cases] or do not [EBV-negative ((-ve)) cases] have evidence of EBV DNA in the Reed-Sternberg cells. Only one study has attempted to distinguish epidemiological risk factors for EBV(+ve) and EBV(-ve) HD, and none have compared inherited susceptibility. The present study involves a population-based case series of HD, diagnosed in patients between 16-24 years of age in the United Kingdom (n = 118), of whom 87% were classified by EBV status (EBV(+ve), 19, EBV(-ve), 84).

Low NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 activity is associated with increased risk of acute leukemia in adults.

NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) is an enzyme that detoxifies quinones and reduces oxidative stress. A cysteine-to-threonine (C --> T) substitution polymorphism at nucleotide 609 of the NQO1 complementary DNA (NQO1 C609T) results in a lowering of NQO1 activity. Individuals homozygous for this mutation have no NQO1 activity, and heterozygotes have low to intermediate activity compared with people with wild type.

Poor metabolizers at the cytochrome P450 2D6 and 2C19 loci are at increased risk of developing adult acute leukaemia.

We have genotyped over 550 cases of acute leukaemia and 950 matched controls from a population-based case-control study, to investigate the impact cytochrome P450s 2D6, 2C19 and 1A1 have on susceptibility to adult acute leukaemia. Analysis included potential associations between polymorphic status and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), plus the FAB and cytogenetic subtypes therein. A significant increased risk was found for CYP2D6 poor metabolizer phenotype and acute leukaemia [odds ratio (OR) = 1.

Initial development of a system-wide maternal-fetal outcomes assessment program.

Objective: This study was undertaken to develop a comprehensive risk-assessment approach capable of evaluating maternal and fetal outcomes.

Study Design: Data from 10,984 women and 11,066 infants delivered at 79 military treatment facilities in the United States from 1995 to 1997 were used to develop two individual but complementary risk-adjustment models for maternal and, separately, fetal outcomes. A range of maternal and delivery-related risk variables and clinically important outcomes were identified by expert opinion and selected and weighted with ordinal logistic regression analysis.

Residential radon exposure and adult acute leukaemia.

Exposure to radioactive radon gas in homes, from natural sources, is an important public-health issue for many countries. We found no association between household exposure to radon and leukaemia in adults in the UK.

Risk factors for Hodgkin's disease by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) status: prior infection by EBV and other agents.

A UK population-based case-control study of Hodgkin's disease (HD) in young adults (16-24 years) included 118 cases and 237 controls matched on year of birth, gender and county of residence. The majority (103) of the cases were classified by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) status (EBV present in Reed-Stenberg cells), with 19 being EBV-positive. Analyses using conditional logistic regression are presented of subject reports of prior infectious disease (infectious mononucleosis (IM), chicken pox, measles, mumps, pertussis and rubella).

Polymorphic variation within the glutathione S-transferase genes and risk of adult acute leukaemia.

Polymorphisms within the phase II metabolizer enzymes GST T1, GST M1 and GST P1 affect the body's ability to detoxify a range of potential leukaemogens encountered in the environment. Using PCR, GST T1, GST M1 and GST P1 genotypes were determined in 557 adults with acute leukaemia and 952 age, sex and geographically matched controls. The strongest association with acute leukaemia was observed for the GST T1 null genotype, which occurred among 19% of cases and 14% of controls [odds ratio (OR) 1.

Tobacco and the risk of acute leukaemia in adults.

Self-reported smoking histories were collected during face-to-face interviews with 807 patients with acute leukaemia and 1593 age- and sex-matched controls. Individuals who had smoked regularly at some time during their lives were more likely to develop acute leukaemia than those who had never smoked (odds ratio (OR) = 1.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.

Polymorphisms in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene are associated with susceptibility to acute leukemia in adults.

Reduction of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate (methyleneTHF), a donor for methylating dUMP to dTMP in DNA synthesis, to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (methylTHF), the primary methyl donor for methionine synthesis, is catalyzed by 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR). A common 677 C --> T polymorphism in the MTHFR gene results in thermolability and reduced MTHFR activity that decreases the pool of methylTHF and increases the pool of methyleneTHF. Recently, another polymorphism in MTHFR (1298 A --> C) has been identified that also results in diminished enzyme activity.

Virologic responses to a ritonavir--saquinavir-containing regimen in patients who had previously failed nelfinavir.

Objectives: The effectiveness of a second protease inhibitor in patients who failed an initial protease inhibitor is unclear but believed to be low. It has been postulated, however, that patients who fail nelfinavir may respond differently. We therefore assessed the virologic response to a ritonavir-saquinavir-containing regimen in patients who had previously failed nelfinavir.

Epstein-Barr virus and Hodgkin's disease: further evidence for the three disease hypothesis.

The epidemiology of Hodgkin's disease suggests that it is a heterogeneous condition comprising more than one disease entity. The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is present in the Reed-Sternberg cells of a proportion of cases and is likely to play a role in the pathogenesis of these cases. In this study we show that EBV association rates vary with age at diagnosis.