Is there a causal relationship between exposure to diesel exhaust and multiple myeloma?

This article presents a comprehensive critical review of the epidemiology of multiple myeloma in relation to occupational diesel exhaust exposure. The review includes cohort and proportional mortality studies of workers exposed to diesel exhaust, and population-based case-control studies of multiple myeloma. None of the cohort or proportional mortality studies reported a significant increase of multiple myeloma in relation to diesel exhaust, with the exception of a study of Danish truck drivers.

Detection of SARS coronavirus in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome by conventional and real-time quantitative reverse transcription-PCR assays.

Background: A novel coronavirus (CoV) was recently identified as the agent for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). We compared the abilities of conventional and real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays to detect SARS CoV in clinical specimens.

Methods: RNA samples isolated from nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA; n = 170) and stool (n = 44) were reverse-transcribed and tested by our in-house conventional RT-PCR assay.

Breast cancer-specific gene 1 interacts with the mitotic checkpoint kinase BubR1.

The abnormal expression of breast cancer-specific gene 1 (BCSG1) in malignant mammary epithelial cells is highly associated with the development and progression of breast cancer. A series of in vitro and in vivo studies performed in our laboratory and others have demonstrated that BCSG1 expression significantly stimulates proliferation, invasion, and metastasis of breast cancer cells. However, currently little is known about how BCSG1 exerts its oncogenic functions.

Regulation of occupational exposures in China.

The recent passage of the Occupational Diseases Prevention and Control Act of 2002 (ODPCAct) in China and the new occupational exposure limits signify the Chinese government's commitment to improve the environment of the workplace and to eradicate preventable occupational diseases. The effectiveness of the ODPCAct, however, will depend on not only implementation and enforcement but also education and communication. For large industrial facilities, implementation of the new regulations can be enforced with periodic monitoring and inspections.

Early diagnosis of SARS coronavirus infection by real time RT-PCR.

Background: A novel coronavirus was recently identified as the aetiological agent of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Molecular assays currently available for detection of SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) have low sensitivity during the early stage of the illness.

Objective: To develop and evaluate a sensitive diagnostic test for SARS by optimizing the viral RNA extraction methods and by applying real-time quantitative RT-PCR technology.

Updated epidemiological study of workers at two California petroleum refineries, 1950-95.

Objectives: To further assess the potential role of occupational exposures on mortality, a second update of a cohort study of workers at two petroleum refineries in California was undertaken.

Methods: Mortality analyses were based on standardised mortality ratios (SMRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) using the general population of California as a reference. Additional analyses of lymphatic and haematopoietic cancer deaths and diseases related to asbestos were undertaken.

Target specific sample preparation from aqueous extracts with molecular imprinted polymers.

In this paper we report a method for the synthesis of molecular imprinted polymers for use in sample preparation with aqueous biological materials. Highly cross-linked bulk polymers were synthesized in the presence of the template molecule, 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid (DPA) using acrylamide (ACD) and 4-vinylpyridine (VP) as functional monomers. Conditions are described for the optimization of the template complex with temperature, copolymer mixture and crosslinker type.

Updated mortality study of workers at a petroleum refinery in Torrance, California, 1959 to 1997.

The updated cohort consisted of 3328 workers who were employed at the Mobil (now ExxonMobil) Torrance, California, refinery for at least 1 year between 1959 and 1997. The vital status of the cohort was determined through a variety of sources, including company employment or retirement records, the Social Security Administration's Death Master File, and the National Death Index. The updated study covered an observation period of 38 years from 1960 to 1997, with a total of 60,612 person-years of observation.

Malignant mesothelioma and asbestos exposure among auto mechanics: appraisal of scientific evidence.

In 1986 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an official guideline on the prevention of asbestos disease among auto mechanics.

Practical aspects of in situ 16O (gamma,n) 15O activation using a conventional medical accelerator for the purpose of perfusion imaging.

We report investigations into the feasibility of generating radioactive oxygen (15O, a positron emitter, with half-life 2.05 min) using a tuned Elekta SL25 accelerator, for the end purpose of imaging tumor perfusion. 15O is produced by the "gamma, neutron," (gamma,n) reaction between high-energy photons and normal oxygen (16O) in the body.

The development of phonological awareness: effects of spoken language experience and orthography.

Phonological awareness, the ability to analyze spoken language into small sound units, has been shown to be affected by the individual's early orthographic experience (alphabetic vs. non-alphabetic). Past studies, however, have not differentiated the effect of script alphabeticity from that of spoken language experience, which covaries strongly with the phonological properties of the language.

An updated mortality study of workers at a petroleum refinery in Beaumont, Texas, 1945 to 1996.

The present investigation represents an update of a previous cohort mortality study of 7543 workers who were employed at a petroleum refinery in Beaumont, Texas, for at least 1 year between 1945 and 1996. The updated study covered an observation period of 51 years, from 1946 to 1996, with a total of 208,627 person-years of observation. A total of 3020 (40.

An international comparison of the involvement of epidemiology in the most frequently cited publications in the field of clinical medicine.

The objectivity, validity and credibility of research in clinical medicine can be enhanced by the appropriate involvement of epidemiology. However, the overall contribution of epidemiology to clinical research, either as a methodology or as a resource for research, has been poorly quantified. We therefore assessed the involvement of epidemiology in influential publications in the field of clinical medicine, and made an international comparison on a quantitative basis.

Embryonic XMab21l2 expression is required for gastrulation and subsequent neural development.

Cell fate determining gene mab-21 regulates the proper establishment of neural cell fate and sensory organ identity in nematode. Mammalian homologs of mab-21 have also been implicated to play critical roles in mid-, hindbrain and craniofacial differentiation. We report here the isolation of a mab-21 homolog, XMab21l2, from Xenopus.

A critical review of cancer epidemiology in the petroleum industry, with a meta-analysis of a combined database of more than 350,000 workers.

In 1989 we published a critical review of cancer epidemiology in petroleum workers, which included as a component of the review a meta-analysis by cancer site. Subsequently we have completed three additional reviews and meta-analyses on cell-type-specific leukemias (1995), multiple myeloma (1997), and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (2000). The objective of the present investigation was to update our 1989 review and meta-analysis of nonlymphohematopoietic cancers in cohort studies of petroleum workers.