Comparison of serum procalcitonin in respiratory infections and bloodstream infections.

Purpose: This study observed the relationship between procalcitonin (PCT) and results of sputum culture, the relationship between PCT and results of blood culture to evaluate and compare the value of PCT in respiratory and bloodstream infections.

Methods: We analyzed 1616 patients in which PCT and sputum culture were concurrently ordered and analyzed, and 1096 patients in which PCT and blood culture were concurrently ordered and analyzed from January 2014 to May 2015. PCT concentrations were measured by on a Roche Cobas E601 ECL analyzer.

Variants of estrogen-related genes and breast cancer risk in European and African American women.

It has been observed previously that compared with women of European ancestry (EA), those of African ancestry (AA) are more likely to develop estrogen receptor (ER)-negative breast cancer, although the mechanisms have not been elucidated. We tested the associations between breast cancer risk and a targeted set of 20 genes known to be involved in estrogen synthesis, metabolism, and response and potential gene-environment interactions using data and samples from 1307 EA (658 cases) and 1365 AA (621 cases) participants from the Women's Circle of Health Study (WCHS). Multivariable logistic regression found evidence of associations with single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ESR1 gene in EA women (rs1801132, odds ratio (OR)=1.