Indicated vs. routine prenatal urine chemical reagent strip testing.

Objective: To determine if urinary tract infection, high blood pressure and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are underdiagnosed when prenatal urine testing is done on a clinically indicated vs. routine basis.

Study Design: Prenatal and delivery records of 2,981 subjects were reviewed in a predominantly Hispanic and medically underserved population.

Clinical outcome of low-grade NHL patients with bone marrow involvement.

Background: Bone marrow (BM) involvement in low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) has a clear impact on patients' survival. The standard practice is morphological examination of BM biopsy at diagnosis. The clinical significance of flow cytometry (FC) analysis of BM aspirates is largely unknown.

Prevention of liver cirrhosis in rats by curcumin.

Background And Aim: Curcumin, the major polyphenolic compound in turmeric, has been shown to attenuate hepatic damage in several animal models of liver injury. The aim of the present study was to examine the efficacy of curcumin in preventing thioacetamide-induced cirrhosis and to unravel the mechanism of curcumin's effect on hepatic fibrosis in rats.

Methods: Liver cirrhosis was induced by thioacetamide (TAA; 200 mg/kg, i.

Genome sequence of the lignocellulose-bioconverting and xylose-fermenting yeast Pichia stipitis.

Xylose is a major constituent of plant lignocellulose, and its fermentation is important for the bioconversion of plant biomass to fuels and chemicals. Pichia stipitis is a well-studied, native xylose-fermenting yeast. The mechanism and regulation of xylose metabolism in P.

Subgroup analysis of the MARINA study of ranibizumab in neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

Objective: An examination of clinically relevant subgroups of patients in the MARINA study of ranibizumab in treatment of minimally classic or occult with no classic choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) was done. Objectives were to determine the effectiveness of ranibizumab across subgroups, compare the effectiveness of ranibizumab with that of sham injection within subgroups, and evaluate the relationship between selected baseline characteristics and visual acuity (VA) outcomes.

Design: Retrospective subgroup analyses of 24-month data from the MARINA study.

Chloroplast genomes of the diatoms Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana: comparison with other plastid genomes of the red lineage.

The chloroplast genomes of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum and the centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana have been completely sequenced and are compared with those of other secondary plastids of the red lineage: the centric diatom Odontella sinensis, the haptophyte Emiliania huxleyi, and the cryptophyte Guillardia theta. All five chromist genomes are compact, with small intergenic regions and no introns. The three diatom genomes are similar in gene content with 127-130 protein-coding genes, and genes for 27 tRNAs, three ribosomal RNAs and two small RNAs (tmRNA and signal recognition particle RNA).

Duration and distance of exposure are important predictors of transmission among community contacts of Ontario SARS cases.

We report attack rates and contact-related predictors among community contacts of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) cases from the 2003 Toronto-area outbreak. Community contact data was extracted from public health records for single, well-defined exposures to a SARS case. In total, 8662 community-acquired exposures resulted in 61 probable cases; a crude attack rate of 0.

Should bone marrow examination be routinely performed for the diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance?

Background: Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance is defined by the presence of: low serum and/or urine monoclonal protein level; less than 10% plasma cells in bone marrow; normal serum calcium, creatinine and hemoglobinlevels; and no bone lesions on full skeletal X-ray survey.

Objectives: To study the necessity of bone marrow examination for the diagnosis and clinical course of MGUS.

Methods: We retrospectively screened the medical records of all patients in whom monoclonal protein was found in the serum during 2001-2002 in the medical laboratories of Meir Medical Center.

Overexpression of tetraspanins affects multiple myeloma cell survival and invasive potential.

Cellular interactions with microenvironmental components are critical in multiple myeloma (MM) and impede effective disease treatment. Membranal-embedded tetraspanins, associated with metastasis suppression, are underexpressed in MM. We aimed to investigate the consequences of CD81/CD82 tetraspanins over-expression in MM cell lines.

A Cautionary Tale of Downloading Public Health in Ontario: What Does It Say about the Need for National Standards for More Than Doctors and Hospitals?

The 2003 SARS outbreak highlighted the importance of maintaining an adequate public health (PH) infrastructure, and cast doubt on the wisdom of basing the system locally without adequate provisions for higher-level oversight and coordination. Structurally, it highlighted the policy legacy of the 1998 Ontario decision to download full responsibility for funding PH services to municipal governments, forcing such services into budgetary competition with the "hard" services traditionally provided by local government. The federal role in PH has traditionally been minimal; PH was never included as a mandatory service in the Canada Health Act, while reform proposals have focused upon such admittedly important directions as pharmacare and home care rather than PH.

Metagenomic analysis of two enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) sludge communities.

Enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) is one of the best-studied microbially mediated industrial processes because of its ecological and economic relevance. Despite this, it is not well understood at the metabolic level. Here we present a metagenomic analysis of two lab-scale EBPR sludges dominated by the uncultured bacterium, "Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis.

Symbiosis insights through metagenomic analysis of a microbial consortium.

Symbioses between bacteria and eukaryotes are ubiquitous, yet our understanding of the interactions driving these associations is hampered by our inability to cultivate most host-associated microbes. Here we use a metagenomic approach to describe four co-occurring symbionts from the marine oligochaete Olavius algarvensis, a worm lacking a mouth, gut and nephridia. Shotgun sequencing and metabolic pathway reconstruction revealed that the symbionts are sulphur-oxidizing and sulphate-reducing bacteria, all of which are capable of carbon fixation, thus providing the host with multiple sources of nutrition.

Personal cytometers: slow flow or no flow?

Background: Although some manufacturers have optimistically described instruments with prices in the 40,000 US dollars range as "personal cytometers", analogy with the personal computer suggests that the target price for a true "personal" cytometer should be under 5,000 US dollars. Since such an apparatus could find a wide range of applications in cytomics in both developing and developed countries, it seemed desirable to consider its technical and economic feasibility.

Methods: Using resolution targets and a variety of fluorescent bead standards immobilized on filters and/or slides, we evaluated high-intensity LEDs as fluorescence excitation sources, relatively inexpensive CCD cameras as detectors, and 35 mm camera lenses and plastic low-power microscope optics for light collection in a simple, inexpensive low-resolution imaging cytometer.

Computational analysis of the Phanerochaete chrysosporium v2.0 genome database and mass spectrometry identification of peptides in ligninolytic cultures reveal complex mixtures of secreted proteins.

The white-rot basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium employs extracellular enzymes to completely degrade the major polymers of wood: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Analysis of a total of 10,048 v2.1 gene models predicts 769 secreted proteins, a substantial increase over the 268 models identified in the earlier database (v1.

Curcumin ameliorates acute thioacetamide-induced hepatotoxicity.

Background And Aim: Increased production of reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide and activation of nuclear factor kappa B are implicated in the pathogenesis of various liver diseases, including fulminant hepatic failure. Curcumin is a naturally occurring anti-oxidant that reduces oxidative stress and inhibits nuclear factor kappa B and nitric oxide formation. The aim of the present study is to assess curcumin's therapeutic potential in acute thioacetamide hepatotoxicity, a rat model of fulminant hepatic failure.

Therapeutic potential of curcumin in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) may be associated with a number of clinical conditions, but it occurs most commonly in patients with insulin resistance. There is as yet no established disease-modifying treatment, and a safe and broadly available agent that targets hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance, inflammation and fibrosis is necessary. The polyphenolic compound curcumin exhibits antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, inhibits NF-kappaB and activates PPAR-gamma.

Nonmyeloablative conditioning does not prevent telomere shortening after allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

Background: Stem cell transplantation (SCT) may be associated with premature aging of the hematopoietic stem cells. Telomere length reflects the proliferative history of a cell. In most studies published so far on telomere dynamics after myeloablative allogeneic SCT, recipients had shorter telomeres than their respective donors, thus reflecting "accelerated aging" of hematopoietic cells.