Differences between Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic patients with primary biliary cirrhosis in the United States.

Unlabelled: Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is an uncommon chronic cholestatic liver disease that primarily afflicts young and middle-aged Caucasian women; there are limited data on the clinical presentation and disease severity among non-Caucasian patients with this disease. The goal of this study was to examine differences in the severity of liver disease between Caucasian and non-Caucasian patients with PBC screened for enrollment in a large national multicenter clinical trial. Demographic features, symptoms, physical findings, and laboratory tests obtained during screening were examined in 535 patients with PBC with respect to ethnicity, gender, and antimitochondrial antibody (AMA) status; 73 of 535 (13.

Autoimmune diseases induced by TNF-targeted therapies: analysis of 233 cases.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-targeted therapies are increasingly used for a rapidly expanding number of rheumatic and autoimmune diseases. With this use and longer follow-up periods of treatment, there are a growing number of reports of the development of autoimmune processes related to anti-TNF agents. We have analyzed the clinical characteristics, outcomes, and patterns of association with the different anti-TNF agents used in all reports of autoimmune diseases developing after TNF-targeted therapy found through a MEDLINE search of articles published between January 1990 and December 2006.

Soluble CD163 from activated macrophages predicts mortality in acute liver failure.

Background/aims: Soluble CD163 (sCD163) is a scavenger receptor shed in serum during inflammatory activation of macrophages. We investigated if sCD163 was increased and predicted outcome in acute liver failure (ALF).

Methods: Samples from 100 consecutive patients enrolled in the U.

The transcription factor Wilms tumor 1 regulates matrix metalloproteinase-9 through a nitric oxide-mediated pathway.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) is released by human lung epithelial cells (LEC) in conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and expression of MMP-9 correlates with the severity of these disorders. MMP-9 production has been reported to be regulated by a NO/soluble guanylate cyclase-dependent pathway. Transcriptional regulation of this enzyme, however, is poorly understood.

[Response to idebenone and multivitamin therapy in Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy].

Objective: To ascertain the efficacy of idebenone and multivitamin treatment in Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON).

Method: Two patients diagnosed of unilateral LHON were treated with megadoses of idebenone, vitamin C and riboflavin for one year. They were examined clinically before, during and after treatment.

[Snake bite by Philodryas chamissonis. A case presentation and literature review].

There are two species of snakes associated with snake bite poisoning in Chile: Philodryas chamissonis and Tachymenis peruviana. A case associated with a P. chamissonis bite occurring during a summer activity in San Antonio, V Region, is presented.

Detection of myeloma in skeleton of mice by whole-body optical fluorescence imaging.

Development of new therapies for myeloma has been hindered by the lack of suitable preclinical animal models of the disease in which widespread tumor foci in the skeleton can be detected reliably. Traditional means of detecting skeletal tumor infiltration such as histopathology are cumbersome and labor-intensive and do not allow temporal monitoring of tumor progression or regression in response to therapy. To resolve this problem, we modified the Radl 5TGM1 model of myeloma bone disease such that fluorescent myeloma tumors can be optically imaged in situ.

[Social and familial determinants of anxiety and depressive symptoms in middle to low income women].

Background: Among women, risk factors for mental disorders are violence, economical inequities and disadvantages and discrimination.

Aim: To determine the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in women and to determine factors associated with them.

Material And Methods: A cross sectional study of a probabilistic sample of 422 women aged 34 years as a mean, living in a medium to low income neighborhood in Temuco, Chile.

Dielectric characterization of bacterial cells using dielectrophoresis.

Measurements of dielectrophoretic collection spectra of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus suspensions are used for obtaining dielectric characteristics of both types of bacteria. The experiments are interpreted using a numerical method that models the cells as compartmented spherical or rod-like particles. We show the usefulness of this simple method to extract significant information about the electrical properties of Gram-negative and -positive bacteria.

Ten-year surveillance of pneumococcal infections in Temuco, Chile: implications for vaccination strategies.

We monitored Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes causing invasive infections in patients admitted to one hospital in southern Chile during a 10-year period (1994 to 2004). All specimens isolated from patients with invasive S. pneumoniae infections were serotyped at the CDC in Atlanta, GA.

Alpha-fetoprotein and prognosis in acute liver failure.

Serum concentrations of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), variably elevated during liver injury, have been suggested to be of prognostic importance in acute liver failure (ALF), higher values being associated with improved outcome. Using a nephelometric assay, we measured AFP in sera obtained on admission from 206 patients prospectively enrolled in the US ALF Study, and on day 3 in 162 of these patients. The AFP ratio was defined as the day 3 AFP concentration divided by that observed on day 1.

Fulminant hepatitis A virus infection in the United States: Incidence, prognosis, and outcomes.

Acute liver failure (ALF) due to hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection is an uncommon but potentially lethal illness. The aim of this study was to identify readily available laboratory and clinical features associated with a poor prognosis among ALF patients with HAV infection. The presenting features of 29 adults with anti-HAV IgM positive ALF enrolled in the ALFSG_between 1998 and 2005 were reviewed.

[Immunohistochemical expression of the E-cadherin-catenin complex in gastric cancer].

Background: The E-cadherin/catenin complex plays an essential role in the control of epithelial differentiation. Abnormal expression in tumors correlates with histological grade, advanced stage and poor prognosis.

Aim: To evaluate the expression pattern of E-cadherin/catenin complex in gastric carcinoma and analyze their association with tumor clinicopathological features and patient survival.

Expression of IGF-I in pancreatic islets prevents lymphocytic infiltration and protects mice from type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetic patients are diagnosed when beta-cell destruction is almost complete. Reversal of type 1 diabetes will require beta-cell regeneration from islet cell precursors and prevention of recurring autoimmunity. IGF-I expression in beta-cells of streptozotocin (STZ)-treated transgenic mice regenerates the endocrine pancreas by increasing beta-cell replication and neogenesis.

Analysis of the electric field induced forces in erythrocyte membrane pores using a realistic cell model.

We calculate the induced electric stress forces on transient hydrophobic pores in the membrane of an erythrocyte exposed to an electric field. For this purpose, we use a finite element numerical technique and a realistic shape for the biconcave erythrocyte represented by a set of parametric equations in terms of Jacobi elliptic functions. The results clearly show that the electrical forces on the base and sidewalls of the pore favour the opening of the pore.

Involvement of Syk kinase in TNF-induced nitric oxide production by airway epithelial cells.

We have recently found that Syk is widely expressed in lung epithelial cells (EC) and participates in beta1 integrin signaling. In this study, we assessed the role of Syk in regulation of NO production. Stimulation of human bronchial EC line HS-24 by TNF caused an increased expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS).

Sinorhizobium meliloti genes involved in tolerance to the antimicrobial peptide protamine.

The innate resistance of plants and animals to microbial infection is mediated in part by small cationic peptides with antimicrobial activity. We assessed the susceptibility of the alfalfa symbiont Sinorhizobium meliloti to the model antimicrobial peptide protamine. Twenty-one Tn5-induced mutants showing increased sensitivity to protamine were isolated, and nine were further characterized in detail.

The relaxase of the Rhizobium etli symbiotic plasmid shows nic site cis-acting preference.

Genetic and biochemical characterization of TraA, the relaxase of symbiotic plasmid pRetCFN42d from Rhizobium etli, is described. After purifying the relaxase domain (N265TraA), we demonstrated nic binding and cleavage activity in vitro and thus characterized for the first time the nick site (nic) of a plasmid in the family Rhizobiaceae. We studied the range of N265TraA relaxase specificity in vitro by testing different oligonucleotides in binding and nicking assays.

Preliminary study of Ochratoxin A in human plasma in agricultural zones of Chile and its relation to food consumption.

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by different species of Aspergillus and Penicillium fungi. The presence of OTA in human blood has been reported in many studies, especially in Europe, however none have been done in South America. In this study, 88 blood samples from healthy donors from two different Chilean agricultural zones were analyzed.

The hedgehog signaling molecule Gli2 induces parathyroid hormone-related peptide expression and osteolysis in metastatic human breast cancer cells.

Parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) is a major factor involved in tumor-induced osteolysis caused by breast cancers that have metastasized to bone. However, the molecular mechanisms that mediate PTHrP production by breast cancer cells are not entirely clear. We hypothesized that Gli2, a downstream transcriptional effector of the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway, regulates PTHrP expression in metastatic breast cancer because the Hh pathway regulates physiologic PTHrP expression in the developing growth plate.

An efficient method for estimating semantic similarity based on feature overlap: reliability and validity of semantic feature ratings.

Two studies were conducted in which human participants rated pairs of words according to the perceived degree to which the words' referents shared semantic features. The participants found thetask intuitive, simple, and quick to complete. The ratings were reliable and valid.

Impact of bacterial genetics on the transmission of isoniazid-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Understanding the ecology of drug-resistant pathogens is essential for devising rational programs to preserve the effective lifespan of antimicrobial agents and to abrogate epidemics of drug-resistant organisms. Mathematical models predict that strain fitness is an important determinant of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis transmission, but the effects of strain diversity have been largely overlooked. Here we compared the impact of resistance mutations on the transmission of isoniazid-resistant M.

[Epidemiology of anesthesia in Catalonia, Spain, in 2003].

Background And Objective: This article provides an epidemiological description of anesthesia practice in Catalonia, Spain, in 2003.

Patients And Method: Descriptive data on sex, age, and physical status of patients according to American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification were taken from responses to the questionnaire used in the ANESCAT 2003 survey. The results were extrapolated to the population of Catalonia in 2003 and the annual rates of anesthesia per 100 inhabitants calculated.