Polyomaviruses KI and WU in children with respiratory tract infection

The polyomaviruses KI (KIPyV) and WU (WUPyV) have recently been discovered in specimens from patients with respiratory tract infections. To analyze the frequency and clinical impact in a cohort of pediatric patients in a German University Children’s Hospital. Nasopharyngeal aspirates or bronchoalveolar lavage specimens of 229 children with acute respiratory tract infection were screened for KIPyV and WUPyV using polymerase chain reaction-based methods. KIPyV was detected in 2 (0.9%) and WUPyV in 1 (0.4%) patients, without co-infections with other respiratory viruses but with co-detection of CMV, EBV and HHV 6 in one immunocompromised patient. Only a very small proportion (1.3%) of positive samples for KIPyV and WUPyV was documented in this study; the clinical relevance of these viruses remains unclear and requires further evaluation.     

Exploring the oral bacterial flora: current status and future directions

Oral Diseases (2010) 16 , 136–145 Objective: The oral cavity forms an indispensable part of the human microbiome, for its unique and diverse microflora distributed within various niches. While majority of these organisms exhibit commensalism, shifts in bacterial community dynamics cause pathological changes within oral cavity and distant sites. The aim of this review was to appraise the current and emerging methods of detecting bacteria of the oral cavity paying particular attention to the cultivation independent methods. Design: Literature pertaining to cultivation based and cultivation independent methods of oral bacterial identification was reviewed. Methods: The specific advantages and disadvantages of cultivation based, microscopic, immunological and metagenomic identification methods were appraised. Results: Because of their fastidious and exacting growth requirements, cultivation based studies grossly underestimate the extent of bacterial diversity in these polymicrobial infections. Culture independent methods deemed more sensitive in identifying difficult to culture and novel bacterial species. Conclusion: Apart from characterizing potentially novel bacterial species, the nucleic acid sequence data analyzed using various bioinformatics protocols have revealed that there are in excess of 700 bacterial species inhabiting the mouth. Moreover, the latest pyrosequencing based methods have further broadened the extent of bacterial diversity in oral niches.     

A nationwide population-based study of migraine in Brazil

The aim of this study was to estimate the 1-year prevalence of migraine and the degree of the association of migraine with some sociodemographic characteristics of a representative sample of the adult population of Brazil. This was a cross-sectional, population-based study. Telephone interviews were conducted on 3848 people, aged 18–79 years, randomly selected from the 27 States of Brazil. The estimated 1-year gender- and age-adjusted prevalence of migraine was 15.2%. Migraine was 2.2 times more prevalent in women, 1.5 times more in subjects with > 11 years of education, 1.59 times more in subjects with income of < 5 Brazilian Minimum Wages per month, and 1.43 times more in those who do not do any physical exercise. The overall prevalence of migraine in Brazil is 15.2%. Migraine is significantly more prevalent in women, subjects with higher education, with lower income, and those who do not exercise regularly, independently of their body mass index.     

Sharps-related injuries in California healthcare facilities: pilot study results from the Sharps Injury Surveillance Registry.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In 1998, the California Department of Health Services invited all healthcare facilities in California (n = 2,532) to participate in a statewide, voluntary sharps injury surveillance project. The objectives were to determine whether a low-cost sharps registry could be established and maintained, and to evaluate the circumstances surrounding sharps injuries in California. RESULTS: Approximately 450 facilities responded and reported a total of 1,940 sharps-related injuries from January 1998 through January 2000. Injuries occurred in a variety of healthcare workers (80 different job titles). Nurses sustained the highest number of injuries (n = 658). In hospital settings (n = 1,780), approximately 20% of the injuries were associated with drawing venous blood, injections, or assisting with a procedure such as suturing. As expected, injuries were caused by tasks conventionally related to specific job classifications. The overall results approximate those reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Surveillance System for Health Care Workers and the University of Virginia's Exposure Prevention Information Network. CONCLUSION: These data further support findings from previous studies documenting the complex and persistent nature of sharps-related injuries in healthcare workers. In the future, mandated reporting using standardized forms and consistent application of decision rules would facilitate a more thorough analysis of injury events.     

Frequentist evaluation of group sequential clinical trial designs

Group sequential stopping rules are often used as guidelines in the monitoring of clinical trials in order to address the ethical and efficiency issues inherent in human testing of a new treatment or preventive agent for disease. Such stopping rules have been proposed based on a variety of different criteria, both scientific (e.g. estimates of treatment effect) and statistical (e.g. frequentist type I error, Bayesian posterior probabilities, stochastic curtailment). It is easily shown, however, that a stopping rule based on one of these criteria induces a stopping rule on all other criteria. Thus, the basis used to initially define a stopping rule is relatively unimportant so long as the operating characteristics of the stopping rule are fully investigated. In this paper we describe how the frequentist operating characteristics of a particular stopping rule might be evaluated to ensure that the selected clinical trial design satisfies the constraints imposed by the many different disciplines represented by the clinical trial collaborators.     

Bayesian evaluation of group sequential clinical trial designs

Clinical trial designs often incorporate a sequential stopping rule to serve as a guide in the early termination of a study. When choosing a particular stopping rule, it is most common to examine frequentist operating characteristics such as type I error, statistical power, and precision of confidence intervals (Statist. Med. 2005, in revision). Increasingly, however, clinical trials are designed and analysed in the Bayesian paradigm. In this paper, we describe how the Bayesian operating characteristics of a particular stopping rule might be evaluated and communicated to the scientific community. In particular, we consider a choice of probability models and a family of prior distributions that allows concise presentation of Bayesian properties for a specified sampling plan.     

An examination of dieting behaviors among adults: links with depression

In the current study, we examined predictors of healthy and unhealthy dieting behaviors with the aim of examining whether or not weight control strategies are associated with depression. Men and women (N=198; M=24.80 years; 51% women) were recruited from a university campus and its surrounding community in the northeastern US. Participants' height and weight were measured, and they completed a survey on health behaviors and attitudes. Results indicated that women and men with high BMIs were more likely to engage in both healthy and unhealthy dieting behaviors than those with low BMIs. Additionally, women with higher levels of depressive symptoms utilized fewer healthy dieting behaviors and more unhealthy dieting behaviors. Depression was not linked to healthy or unhealthy dieting behaviors in men. These findings are discussed in terms of the potential reciprocal relationship between women's unhealthy weight control strategies and depression.     

Omeprazole, Helicobacter pylori status, and alterations in the intragastric milieu facilitating bacterial N-nitrosation

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Omeprazole produces greater acid inhibition in Helicobacter pylori-positive than -negative subjects. We investigated whether this is accompanied by more profound changes in the intragastric milieu that facilitates bacterial synthesis of N-nitroso compounds. METHODS: Gastric juice pH; nitrite, ascorbic acid, and total vitamin C concentrations; and colonization by other bacteria were examined before and during omeprazole treatment in subjects with and without H. pylori infection. Studies were performed in the fasting state and after consumption of 2 mmol nitrate (equivalent to a salad meal). RESULTS: Before omeprazole, H. pylori-positive and -negative subjects were similar for all parameters. During omeprazole, H. pylori-positive subjects had a higher intragastric pH (7.8 vs. 3.0; P < 0.00001) and greater colonization with non-H. pylori species (5 x 10(7) vs. 5 x 10(5) CFU/mL; P < 0.05). These bacteria included nitrosating species. During omeprazole treatment, H. pylori-positive subjects had higher intragastric nitrite levels after the nitrate meal (median area under the concentration/time curve, 12,450 vs. 4708 micromol/L. min; P = 0.04). Omeprazole lowered intragastric vitamin C levels in H. pylori-positive but not -negative subjects (1.8 vs. 3.4 microg/mL, respectively; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In H. pylori-positive subjects, omeprazole produces disturbances in intragastric nitrite, vitamin C, and bacterial colonization that facilitate bacterial N-nitrosation. This may place them at increased risk of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.     

地理信息系统应用于血吸虫病的监测 Ⅰ.应用预测模型的可能性

目的：建立血吸虫病地理信息系统，利用气象参数建立模型来探讨预测血吸虫病的流行区的可能性。方法：以世界粮农组织出版的FAOCLIM数据库中的数据为基础，以血吸虫发育扩散关系密切的温度和潜在蒸发指数（地面水平衡系统）为基础的改良Malone公式计算血吸虫传播指数，结合AVHRR卫星图片资料，获得校正植被指数（NDVI）和第4频道地面温度指数、高程分布图，在ArcView3．0a和ERDAS软件支持下，进行GIS数据空间分析和地图重叠分析，以某一类别值显示出流行区的地理分布图。结果：血吸虫传播指数（指数值大于900）的分布基本上与中国南部地区的血吸虫病流行区相吻合。多层重叠分布图显示了红色区域的高危地区与长江流域的血吸虫病高发地区基本一致。结论：血吸虫病的流行范围与温度、高程、雨量等因素密切相关。利用气象资料模型和卫星遥感资料对预测血吸虫病的潜在流行区具有可能。准确、快速地利用AVHRR遥感资料来预测、预报血吸虫病流行范围和强度具有应用前景，值得作进一步探讨。