Characterization of Chinook head salmon embryo phenotypes of infectious salmon anemia virus by real-time RT-PCR.

We have previously described the development of a onetube SYBR Green real-time RT-PCR assay for the detection and quantitation of infectious salmon anemia virus (ISAV) in various biological samples. The twofold aim of the present study was to verify that the optimized SYBR Green real-time RT-PCR conditions could detect ISAV isolates of different geographic origins, and to analyze the growth patterns of the selected ISAV isolates in the Chinook head salmon embryo (CHSE) -214 cells by this assay to better characterize their CHSE-phenotypes. A total of 24 ISAV isolates were used in this study.

Median survival time of patients after transcatheter chemo-embolization for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: To determine the effect on survival after transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Radiology Department, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Stadium Road, Karachi, from December 1997 to September 2005.

Constitutive expression of Atlantic salmon Mx1 protein in CHSE-214 cells confers resistance to infectious salmon anaemia virus.

Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is a highly fatal viral disease affecting marine-farmed Atlantic salmon which is caused by ISA virus (ISAV), a fish orthomyxovirus that has recently been assigned to the new genus Isavirus within the family Orthomyxoviridae. Mx proteins are among the interferon (IFN)-induced proteins responsible for the development of an antiviral state in vertebrate cells. We used real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Chinook salmon embryo (CHSE-214) cells constitutively expressing Atlantic salmon Mx1 protein (ASMx1) to examine the antiviral properties of ASMx1 against two ISAV strains, NBISA01 and HKS-36, having phenotypically different growth properties (cytopathic vs non-cytopathic) in the CHSE-214 cell line.

Development of a multicenter peripheral arterial interventional database: the PVD-QI2.

Background: The number of peripheral vascular intervention (PVI) procedures performed is steadily increasing in the United States. PVD-QI 2 is a prospective, multicenter observational study designed to improve the quality of care for patients undergoing PVI and to better understand the effectiveness and appropriateness of PVI in improving outcomes of peripheral arterial disease. The registry aims to elucidate which comorbid conditions and procedure-related variables are associated with beneficial or adverse outcomes after vascular interventions.

Attentional and neurocognitive characteristics of high-risk offspring of parents with schizophrenia compared with DSM-IV attention deficit hyperactivity disorder children.

Offspring of individuals with schizophrenia are at increased baseline risk for a range of early mental disorders. Studies investigating the premorbid characteristics of individuals with schizophrenia indicate that they suffer from social, behavioral, attentional and neurocognitive impairments, often resembling attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In this study, we compared the executive functioning and general intelligence among three groups: (i) children and adolescents with DSM-IV ADHD (n=41), (ii) "high-risk" (HR) offspring of parents with DSM-IV schizophrenia, and (iii) normal comparison subjects (n=35).

Prognostic factors in early glottic carcinoma implications for treatment.

Aim: In this study we aimed to determine the prognostic factors affecting local control (LC) in limited glottic carcinoma treated with definitive radiotherapy (RT).

Material And Methods: Between June 1991 and December 2001, 114 patients with early squamous-cell carcinoma of the glottis were treated with definitive RT at our institution. Only four (3.

Transjugular intrahepatic cavoportal shunt for Budd-Chiari syndrome.

Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) is characterized by obstruction of the hepatic venous outflow tract. Therapeutic options for BCS are limited. We report a case of a 21-year-old woman with protein S and C deficiency with gross ascites.

Effects of internal displacement and resettlement on the mental health of Turkish children and adolescents.

Aims: To evaluate the effects of internal displacement and resettlement within Turkey on the emotional and behavioral profile of children, age 5-18 after controlling for possible confounding and demographic variables.

Method: We conducted a national population survey using a self-weighted, equal probability sample. We compared the CBCL, TRF and YSR responses regarding children with (n = 1644) and without (n = 1855) experience of internal displacement.

Association between smallpox vaccination and hepatitis C antibody positive serology in Pakistani volunteers.

Goals: To determine whether the smallpox vaccination program has significantly contributed to the widespread prevalence of hepatitis C infection in Pakistan.

Background: Hepatitis C virus has become a worldwide pandemic and has especially devastated developing nations such as Pakistan. There continues to be an increase in fatalities due to hepatitis C-related cirrhosis in Pakistan.

Behavioral and emotional problems among Turkish children at ages 2 to 3 years.

Objective: Within the framework of the Mental Health Surveys of Turkey, the authors investigated the distribution and prevalence of parent-reported behavioral and emotional problems in a nationally representative sample of 2- to 3-year-old children.

Method: A cross-sectional population-based survey from October 1996 through March 1997 using a self-weighted and equal probability sample of Turkish toddlers (N = 638) was conducted. The Child Behavior Checklist Total Problem scores and Household Questionnaire reports by parent informant source (response rate 94.

Lack of clopidogrel-CYP3A4 statin interaction in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

Objective: To assess a clinically significant interaction between cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) metabolised statin and clopidogrel.

Design: Prospective single centre cohort study.

Setting: Academic teaching hospital in the USA.

Regulatory and ethical principles in research involving children and individuals with developmental disabilities.

Children and individuals with developmental disabilities (DD) compared to typical participants are disadvantaged not only by virtue of being vulnerable to risks inherent in research participation but also by the higher likelihood of exclusion from research altogether. Current regulatory and ethical guidelines although necessary for their protection do not sufficiently ensure fair distributive justice. Yet, in view of disproportionately higher burdens of co-occurring physical and mental disorders in individuals with DD, they are better positioned to benefit from research by equitable participation.

Infectious salmon anemia virus: causative agent, pathogenesis and immunity.

Infectious salmon anemia (ISA) virus (ISAV), an economically important new pathogen in marine aquaculture, is classified in the family Orthomyxoviridae, genus Isavirus. The main structural properties of this genus include enveloped virions 90-140 nm in diameter with surface projections of a combined receptor-binding hemagglutinin and receptor-destroying enzyme activity demonstrated to be an esterase, hence recently designated HE, and a genome composed of eight segments of linear, single-stranded, negative sense RNA ranging in length from 1.0 to 2.

A window of opportunity for the transformation of national mental health policy in Turkey following two major earthquakes.

Striking at the nation's highly populated industrial heartlands, two massive earthquakes in 1999 killed over 25,000 people in Turkey. The economic cost and the humanitarian magnitude of the disaster were unprecedented in the country's history. The crisis also underscored a major flaw in the organization of mental health services in the provinces that were left out of the 1961 reforms that aimed to make basic health services available nationwide.

Endovascular-covered stent treatment of posttraumatic cervical carotid artery pseudoaneurysms.

Pseudoaneurysm involving the cervical portion of the carotid artery can result from prior trauma or dissection. Two patients are reported with posttraumatic carotid artery pseudoaneurysms. In both cases, endovascular-covered stents were placed across the diseased portion of the artery resulting in thrombosis of the aneurysm and preservation of the parent artery without any significant complication.

The importance of extracapsular extension of axillary lymph node metastases in breast cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic value of extracapsular extension (ECE) of axillary lymph node metastases in 221 patients with axillary lymph node-positive, T1-T2 breast cancer treated at Dokuz Eylul University Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology.

Patients And Methods: The clinical records of patients with axillary node-positive, pathological stage II-III breast cancer examined at Dokuz Eylul University Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology, between 1991-1999 were reviewed. All patients underwent modified radical mastectomy (MRM) or wide excision with axillary node dissection.

The role of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in obstructive jaundice.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic value of MRCP in studying the sites and cause of obstructive jaundice in comparison with other imaging modalities at the Department of Radiology, Aga Khan University Hospital, from January 1999 to May 2001.

Methods: Forty nine consecutive patients included 19 men and 30 women, suspected of obstructive jaundice. Patients underwent ultrasound (n = 49), CT (n = 11), ERCP (n = 25) and biliary surgery (n = 17).

The evaluation of hepatocellular carcinoma with biphasic contrast enhanced helical CT scan.

Objective: To evaluate the role of biphasic contrast-enhanced helical CT including Hepatic Arterial Phase (HAP) imaging with Portal Venous Phase (PVP) imaging, in the detection and characterization of hepatocellular carcinomas.

Methods: The study included 40 patients (M = 26, F = 14) with histopathologically proven HCC. Age range was between 30-85 years (mean = 55) by following consecutive patients with cirrhosis in whom Hepatocellular carcinoma was diagnosed or suspected either by raised serum a (alpha)-fetoprotein level or Ultrasound.

Unenhanced helical CT of ureterolithiasis: incidence of secondary urinary tract findings.

Objective: To determine the incidence of secondary signs of obstruction in patients with ureteral stones on unenhanced helical CT scans.

Material And Methods: Three hundred consecutive patients with suspected renal colic referred by the emergency department for an unenhanced helical CT scan were evaluated. One hundred and thirty two patients with ureteric calculi were viewed prospectively for the secondary signs of obstruction, which include hydronephrosis, hydroureter, perinephric stranding, nephromegaly, periureteral edema and difference in attenuation between acutely obstructed kidney and unobstructed kidney.

Detection of infectious salmon anaemia virus by real-time RT-PCR.

A one-tube real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using LightCycler technology and SYBR Green chemistry that quantitatively detects infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV) in biological samples is described. The assay utilized primers targeting ISAV RNA segment 8, with ISAV isolate U5575-1 as template. The entire optimized assay, including one cycle of reverse transcription, 50 cycles of complementary DNA amplification, and data acquisition and analysis took only 80min.

Developmental psychiatry and intellectual disabilities: an American perspective.

The Natalie Cobbing Travelling Fellowship gives the opportunity to medical professionals trained in the Psychiatry of Intellectual Disabilities to gain experience in their field from centres overseas. This article concentrates on specialist work settings and the practice in developmental disabilities in Boston, USA. The authors conclude that such training opportunities not only are important educational milestones but also help in creating a network of professionals who can work together to improve standards of research and clinical practice across different cultural and ethnic divides.

Genetics of obesity: more complicated than initially thought.

During the past several decades, there has been an explosion in the prevalence of obesity. Since our genes have not changed appreciably during that time, it stands to reason that the present epidemic is caused by our pervasive obesigenic environment, in which excess caloric intake and decreased physical activity conspire with one another. Despite an obesigenic environment, humans have great variability in their susceptibility to obesity, which is determined in large part by genetics.

Does the MMR vaccine and secretin or its receptor share an antigenic epitope?

In a subgroup of children with autism-spectrum like conditions symptoms seem to appear as a 'regression' (in normal development). It has been postulated that the onset of such autistic symptoms may involve an autoimmune response against the central nervous system and that the antigenic determinant could possibly be gastrointestinal in origin. It has been suggested that the presence of the measles virus and 'autistic enterocolitis' demonstrates the possibility that the MMR triple vaccine may be mediating the inflammation with possible production of antibodies against the virus containing vaccine.