Mortality among Soviet and Russian cosmonauts: 1960-2013.

Introduction: Though the mortality of U.S. astronauts has been studied repeatedly in the last 20 yr, little is known about the long-term mortality trends of Soviet and Russian cosmonauts.

Utilization of lymph node dissection, race/ethnicity, and breast cancer outcomes.

Objectives: Although large differences by race/ethnicity in breast cancer survival are well established, it is unknown whether disparities in nodal surgery utilization explain the racial/ethnic disparities in survival among women with micrometastasis and macrometastasis in sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs).

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Methods: Women with breast cancer who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and who were found to have nodal metastases were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database (1998-2005).

Exposure to antibiotics in a United States-Mexico border birth cohort.

Objective: The goal was to compare the frequency of children's antibiotic intake, emphasizing antibiotics with anti-Helicobacter pylori effects, in El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico.

Methods: Hispanic children were enrolled prenatally at mother-child clinics in El Paso, and Juarez, in 1998-2000, to identify determinants of H pylori infection. During follow-up examinations targeted every 6 months from 6 to 84 months of age, caretakers reported medication use during the preceding interval.

Gene expression in Barrett's esophagus: laser capture versus whole tissue.

Objective: Diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus (BE) is typically done through morphologic analysis of esophageal tissue biopsy. Such samples contain several cell types. Laser capture microdissection (LCM) allows the isolation of specific cells from heterogeneous cell populations.

Epidemiology and transmission of hepatitis B and C viruses in Kazakhstan.

Aim: To investigate the epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in the two major ethnic groups in Kazakhstan.

Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study of HBV and HCV seroprevalence was performed among individuals born in Kazakhstan with no history of chronic hepatitis or liver disease.

Results: There were 290 volunteers (140 Russians and 150 Kazakhs) aged 10 to 64 years, males accounted for 46%.

Point-of-care Helicobacter pylori urine antibody detection in a multi-ethnic adult population in the United States.

A need exists for accurate point-of-care tests for diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection to evaluate a rapid urine-H. pylori antibody test device for detection of H.

Problem of distinguishing false-positive tests from acute or transient Helicobacter pylori infections.

Background: Reliable detection of acute Helicobacter pylori infections remains problematic. The high prevalence of false-positive non-invasive tests in low H. pylori prevalence populations makes identification of acute and transient infections difficult.

Noninvasive versus histologic detection of gastric atrophy in a Hispanic population in North America.

Background & Aims: Cancer risk is directly correlated with the severity and extent of mucosal atrophy, making identification of atrophy a goal in cancer prevention programs. The aim of this study was to compare targeted histology with noninvasive testing for the identification of antral and/or corpus atrophy in North America.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study of a random sample of households, 8 gastric biopsy specimens were obtained from defined locations in the antrum and corpus.

B-cell and T-cell immune responses to experimental Helicobacter pylori infection in humans.

The acute antibody and T-cell immune response to Helicobacter pylori infection in humans has not been studied systematically. Serum from H. pylori-naive volunteers challenged with H.

Polyomavirus SV40 infections in Kazakhstan.

Objectives: To examine the prevalence of polyomavirus SV40 infections in Kazakhstan, a central Asian country known to have used potentially contaminated SV40 poliovaccines before 1962.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 307 healthy volunteers from two ethnic groups (Kazakhs and Russians) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from May through August 1999 using a specific SV40 plaque-reduction neutralization assay.

Results: Of the 307 volunteers enrolled in the study, 154 were Kazakhs and 153 were Russians.

A pilot study of Helicobacter pylori infection and risk of laryngopharyngeal cancer.

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma of the laryngopharynx has been linked to laryngopharyngeal reflux disease. Helicobacter pylori corpus gastritis decreases gastric acid secretion and provides some protection against complications of gastroesophageal reflux, including adenocarcinoma of the distal esophagus. The aim of this study was to investigate whether H.

Correlation between Helicobacter pylori OipA protein expression and oipA gene switch status.

Polyclonal antisera to either a synthetic OipA peptide or a recombinant OipA protein detected OipA expression in Helicobacter pylori and correlated with functional oipA status determined by PCR sequence (sensitivity and specificity of >94%). Immunoblotting is a simple and accurate method for detecting expression of the important virulence factor OipA.

Helicobacter pylori infection in Kazakhstan: effect of water source and household hygiene.

The epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori infection and risk factors associated with its transmission are not well understood. Kazakhstan is country with two ethnic groups, Asian (Kazakhs) and Western (Russians), living under similar socioeconomic conditions. The aim of this study was to examine the seroepidemiologic pattern of H.