| rabies surveillance in the united states during 2004. | during 2004, 49 states and puerto rico reported 6,836 cases of rabies in nonhuman animals and 8 cases in human beings to the cdc, representing a 4.6% decrease from the 7,170 cases in nonhuman animals and 3 cases in human beings reported in 2003. approximately 92% of the cases were in wildlife, and 8% were in domestic animals (compared with 91% and 9%, respectively, in 2003). relative contributions by the major animal groups were as follows: 2,564 raccoons (37.5%), 1,856 skunks (27.1%), 1,361 bat ... | 2005 | 16379626 |
| boston hospital drill tests pandemic flu readiness. | | 2006 | 16390922 |
| hemostatic markers of endothelial dysfunction and risk of incident type 2 diabetes: the framingham offspring study. | endothelial dysfunction may precede development of type 2 diabetes. we tested the hypothesis that elevated levels of hemostatic markers of endothelial dysfunction, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (pai-1) antigen, and von willebrand factor (vwf) antigen predicted incident diabetes independent of other diabetes risk factors. we followed 2,924 framingham offspring subjects (54% women, mean age 54 years) without diabetes at baseline (defined by treatment, fasting plasma glucose > or =7 or 2-h post ... | 2006 | 16443791 |
| transcendent pluralism and the influence of nursing testimony on environmental justice legislation. | environmental justice is an important issue affecting health disparities. using the framework of transcendent pluralism, this article describes nursing actions and research in a legislative coalition for an environmental justice bill. two descriptive studies are conducted: a focus group with six legislative aides and an evaluation of a nursing presentation given to 10 massachusetts state legislators. pretest and posttest results showed a small but significant increase in the legislators' disposi ... | 2005 | 16443961 |
| human cell mutagens in respirable airborne particles from the northeastern united states. 2. quantification of mutagens and other organic compounds. | few reports have characterized mutagenic compounds in respirable airborne particles (<2.5 micrometers in diameter; pm2.5) collected at different sites on a regional scale (hundreds of km). previously, we reported differences in the human (h1a1v2) cell mutagenicity of whole and fractionated organic extracts of pm2.5 samples collected in boston, ma, rochester, ny, and quabbin reservoir, a rural site in western ma. herein we describe the analysis of mutagens and other organic compounds in these sam ... | 2005 | 16475335 |
| the 50th anniversary of the first successful human organ transplant. | | 2005 | 16524047 |
| social hazards on the job: workplace abuse, sexual harassment, and racial discrimination--a study of black, latino, and white low-income women and men workers in the united states. | this study documents the prevalence of workplace abuse, sexual harassment at work, and lifetime experiences of racial discrimination among the united for health cohort of 1,202 predominantly black, latino, and white women and men low-income union workers in the greater boston area. overall, 85 percent of the cohort reported exposure to at least one of these three social hazards; exposure to all three reached 20 to 30 percent among black women and women and men in racial/ethnic groups other than ... | 2006 | 16524165 |
| [progress on oecd chemicals programme (7)--siam 15 in boston, 2002]. | the 15th screening information data set (sids) initial assessment meeting (siam 15) was held in boston, usa. the initial assessment documents of twelve substances at siam 15 (cas numbers: 79-39-0, 88-60-8, 92-70-6, 102-76-1, 110-83-8, 135-19-3, 7647-01-0, 8007-18-9, 10043-52-4, 11070-44-3, 25321-09-9, 68186-90-3) were submitted by the japanese government with or without the international council of chemical associations (icca) and all of them on the human health effect parts were agreed at the m ... | 2005 | 16541752 |
| detection of babesia and anaplasma species in rabbits from texas and georgia, usa. | rabbits have been shown to harbor a suite of zoonotic organisms, including a babesia species, borrelia burgdorferi, and anaplasma phagocytophilum. in this study, we conducted a molecular survey for various tick-borne pathogens in three species of rabbits from texas and georgia. of 18 black-tailed jackrabbits (lepus californicus) tested from texas, six (28%) were polymerase chain reaction (pcr) positive for babesia, and nucleotide sequencing revealed two distinct species or strains. two jackrabbi ... | 2006 | 16584322 |
| utilization of the medical librarian in a state medicaid program to provide information services geared to health policy and health disparities. | objective: the role of two solo medical librarians in supporting medicaid programs by functioning as information specialists at regional and state levels is examined. setting: a solo librarian for the massachusetts medicaid (masshealth) program and a solo librarian for the new england states consortium systems organization (nescso) functioned as information specialists in context to support medicaid policy development and clinical, administrative, and program staff for state medicaid programs. b ... | 2006 | 16636710 |
| characteristics and utilization of primary care services in a torture rehabilitation center. | we conducted a retrospective chart review to look into the utilization of healthcare services of refugees. between december 1998 and june 2001, 146 refugees received care at the boston center for refugee health and human rights. the mean age was 39+/- 1 years; 57% were males, and 84% were survivors of torture. a significant number of patients were diagnosed with major depression (70%), post-traumatic stress disorder (58%), past hepatitis a infection (77%), and tuberculosis classes 2 and 3 (42%). ... | 2006 | 16649131 |
| estrogenic activity of polychlorinated biphenyls present in human tissue and the environment. | this study evaluated the estrogenicity of polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs) present in environmental media and human tissue and assessed exposure pathways for pcb-derived estrogenic potency in air, soil, and dust from new bedford, ma, an area with a pcb-contaminated superfund site. thirty-four pcb congeners were assayed for estrogenic potency using e-screen, an assay based on the estrogen-dependent proliferation of mcf-7 cells in vitro. childhood exposure to estradiol-equivalents via pcbs in envi ... | 2006 | 16683629 |
| forearm electromyographic changes with the use of a haptic force-feedback computer mouse. | to examine changes in biomechanical and motor control associated with a force-feedback computer mouse. | 2006 | 16696263 |
| genotype-by-sex interaction in the regulation of high-density lipoprotein: the framingham heart study. | low levels of high-density lipoprotein (hdl) are widely documented as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (cvd). furthermore, there is marked sexual dimorphism in both hdl levels and the prevalence of cvd. however, the extent to which genetic factors contribute to such dimorphism has been largely unexplored. we examined the evidence for genotype-by-sex effects on hdl in a longitudinal sample of 1562 participants from 330 families in the framingham heart study at three times points correspon ... | 2005 | 16715837 |
| becoming the harvard man: person-environment fit, personality development, and academic success. | the continuity and change of the needs and evaluations of the college environment and person-environment fit (pe fit) with the college environment were studied in a 4-year longitudinal study of students (n = 191). perceptions of the environment changed more dramatically than corresponding self-perceived needs. pe fit demonstrated moderate levels of consistency over the 4-year span, but no significant increases in mean levels were found over time. antecedents to pe fit in the college environment ... | 2006 | 16738020 |
| blood cultures do not change management in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia. | to determine if blood cultures identify organisms that are not appropriately treated with initial empiric antibiotics in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia, and to calculate the costs of blood cultures and cost savings realized by changing to narrower-spectrum antibiotics based on the results. | 2006 | 16766742 |
| corticosterone responses change seasonally in free-living house sparrows (passer domesticus). | avian corticosterone (cort) concentrations vary seasonally for many species, but most studies examined species from extreme environments or from only a few times of the year. it is unclear how general a phenomenon this is. we examined both baseline and stress-induced cort from house sparrows (passer domesticus) in two habitats-massachusetts, similar to their ancestral habitat; and new mexico, a semi-arid desert where the house sparrow only thrives as an obligate human commensal. we captured both ... | 2006 | 16774754 |
| global health database. | the global health database is available from ovid technologies, inc., and also from cabi publishing, ebsco, and datastar/ dialog. this database is really the combination of two others--the public health and tropical medicine database, formerly produced by the bureau of hygiene and tropical diseases, as well as human health and diseases information that is extracted from the cab abstracts database. this column will provide readers with an overview of the global health database, as well as present ... | 2006 | 16782667 |
| comparison of reactivity and epitope recognition between sera from american and italian patients with oral pemphigoid. | mucous membrane pemphigoid (mmp) (also known as cicatricial pemphigoid) is a rare autoimmune mucocutaneous blistering disease that affects mucous membranes derived from stratified squamous epithelium and the skin. a subset of mmp affects only the oral cavity and is referred to as the oral pemphigoid (op). mmp and op are characterized by subepithelial vesicles on histology and in vivo deposition of immunoglobulins and complement at the basement membrane zone (bmz) on immunopathology. previous stu ... | 2006 | 16792670 |
| eastern equine encephalitis--new hampshire and massachusetts, august-september 2005. | during august-september 2005, the new hampshire department of health and human services reported seven cases of human eastern equine encephalitis virus (eeev) disease, the first laboratory-confirmed, locally acquired cases of human eeev disease reported from new hampshire in 41 years of national surveillance. also during august--september 2005, the massachusetts department of public health reported four cases of human eeev disease, five times the annual average of 0.8 cases reported from massach ... | 2006 | 16810146 |
| influenza and other respiratory virus-related emergency department visits among young children. | influenza and other winter respiratory viruses cause substantial morbidity among children. previous estimates of the burden of illness of these viruses have neglected to include the emergency department, where a large number of patients seek acute care for respiratory illnesses. this study provides city- and statewide population estimates of the burden of illness attributable to respiratory viruses for children receiving emergency department-based care for respiratory infections during the winte ... | 2006 | 16818524 |
| gb virus c (gbv-c) infection in hepatitis c virus (hcv)/hiv-coinfected patients receiving hcv treatment: importance of the gbv-c genotype. | persistent gb virus c (gbv-c) coinfection leads to slower human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) progression. despite the existence of multiple gbv-c genotypes, their relevance to the progression of hiv disease is unknown. we therefore investigated (1) the prevalence and genotype of gbv-c in hepatitis c virus (hcv)/hiv-coinfected patients and (2) the impact of hcv treatment on gbv-c rna clearance. | 2006 | 16845623 |
| immigration policies increase south asian immigrant women's vulnerability to intimate partner violence. | to explore forms of immigration-related partner abuse and examine the association of such abuse and immigration status with physical and sexual intimate partner violence (ipv) among south asian women residing in greater boston. | 2005 | 16845767 |
| low risk of relapse after achieving undetectable hcg levels in women with partial molar pregnancy. | we evaluated the risk of gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (gtn) for women with partial molar pregnancy whose human chorionic gonadotropin (hcg) levels fall spontaneously to undetectable levels using a sensitive hcg assay. | 2006 | 16880311 |
| influenza vaccine for school-aged children. | | 2006 | 16882851 |
| a tale of three cities--where rhios meet the nhin. | regional health information exchanges in california, indiana, and massachusetts have been collaborating on a prototype for a nationwide health information network, first under the auspices of the markle foundation's connecting for health program and now under contract to the department of health and human services' office of the national coordinator for health information technology. since mid-2004, this collaboration has evolved from a collection of regional efforts to a standards-driven cooper ... | 2006 | 16903663 |
| the rise and demise of a collection of human fetuses at mount holyoke college. | when i found myself at the center of a controversy over the disposition of an old collection of human fetal specimens at mount holyoke college, i was motivated to explore the historical transformation that turned embryo collecting for research and pedagogical purposes from a noble to a disparaged practice, and dead fetuses from prized anatomical specimens to ugly, anomalous entities. using linda layne's analysis of the literal and symbolic erasure of dead fetuses from american cultural discourse ... | 2006 | 16960312 |
| legislating fear and the public health in gilded age massachusetts. | between 1876 and 1881 massachusetts experienced an outbreak of human rabies (hydrophobia). the entire state--the governor, the legislature, the state board of health, newspapers, and the citizenry and elected officials of every town and city--reacted to the disease. central to the response was the commonwealth's legislature--called the general court. through public hearings, their own debates, and the passage of legislation, it resolved widespread fear and anger, mediated conflicting concepts of ... | 2007 | 16980330 |
| optimizing resource allocation in united states aids drug assistance programs. | us acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (aids) drug assistance programs (adaps) provide medications to low-income patients with human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) infection/aids. nationally, adaps are in a fiscal crisis. many states have instituted waiting lists, often serving clients on a first-come, first-served basis. we hypothesized that cd4 cell count-based adap eligibility would improve adap outcomes, allowing them to serve more-diverse patient populations and to prioritize persons who are a ... | 2006 | 17051505 |
| reproductive deficits in male freshwater turtle chrysemys picta from cape cod, massachusetts. | contaminated groundwater plumes have formed on the massachusetts military reservation (mmr), a superfund site on cape cod, massachusetts, as a result of chemical waste disposal. the plumes are of concern to the local people who rely on groundwater as a drinking water source. we used the freshwater turtle as a sentinel species to monitor the reproductive effects of exposure and, by inference, the potential for impact on human health. our observations of male chrysemys picta field-trapped from moo ... | 2007 | 17123946 |
| polymorphisms in the mannose binding lectin-2 gene and acute respiratory distress syndrome. | the variant alleles in the mannose binding lectin-2 (mbl-2) gene have been associated with mbl deficiency and increased susceptibility to sepsis. we postulate that the variant mbl-2 genotypes are associated with increased susceptibility to and mortality in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ards). | 2007 | 17133182 |
| phylogenetic and biologic evidence that babesia divergens is not endemic in the united states. | the causative agent of human babesiosis in a kentucky case, which was first identified as babesia divergens, is identical to a parasite of eastern cottontail rabbits on nantucket island, massachusetts based on piroplasm size, morphology, and ribosomal rna sequence analysis. studies showing differential infectivity for cattle, host erythrocyte specificity in vitro, parasite size and morphology in vitro, and ribosomal rna sequences clearly demonstrate that the parasite from the rabbit (conspecific ... | 2006 | 17135561 |
| hfe genotype, particulate air pollution, and heart rate variability: a gene-environment interaction. | particulate air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. transition metals such as iron bound to the particles may be responsible for those associations. the protein product of the hemochromatosis (hfe) gene modulates uptake of iron and divalent cations from pulmonary sources and reduces their toxicity. two hfe polymorphisms (c282y and h63d) associated with increased iron uptake may modify the effect of metal-rich particles on the cardiovascular system. | 2006 | 17145987 |
| cross-cultural considerations in the conduct of community-based participatory research. | this article explores cross-cultural challenges that arise when university and community members collaborate in community-based participatory research. as part of a project for primary prevention of human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) infection, researchers trained community leaders to jointly develop a research question and conduct a pilot qualitative study in a puerto rican community in massachusetts. different priorities of the community and university members about hiv as a research topic und ... | 2007 | 17149031 |
| organochlorine exposures during pregnancy and infant size at birth. | organochlorines, including polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs) and pesticides, are environmentally persistent contaminants that concentrate in the food chain as well in human adipose tissue and readily cross the placenta. | 2007 | 17179760 |
| incessant ovulation, mucin 1 immunity, and risk for ovarian cancer. | risk for ovarian cancer correlates directly with "ovulatory years or cycles" estimated from time not pregnant, breast-feeding, or using oral contraceptives. recently, we reported that several factors known to reduce ovarian cancer risk may operate by inducing antibodies against mucin 1 (muc1), a glycoprotein overexpressed in ovarian cancer. conversely, other events might increase risk by interfering with the development of protective immunity. in this study, we examined whether the total number ... | 2007 | 17220329 |
| global dna methylation level in whole blood as a biomarker in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. | head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (hnscc) is commonly associated with tobacco and alcohol exposures, although dietary factors, particularly folate, and human papillomavirus, are also risk factors. epigenetic alterations are increasingly implicated in the initiation and progression of cancer. genome-wide (global) hypomethylation seems to occur in early neoplasia and is a feature of genomic dna derived from solid tumor tissues, including hnscc. this study aimed to determine whether global meth ... | 2007 | 17220338 |
| reengineering real time outbreak detection systems for influenza epidemic monitoring. | in the wake of fears over pandemic influenza, triggered by concern about avian influenza, a top national priority is to adapt surveillance systems, such as biosense, for influenza monitoring. while real time surveillance system architects have been largely focused on the problem of discrete outbreak detection, the data in these systems have been shown to have unique advantages for the timely detection of influenza. in this study, we evaluate the utility influenza detection by real-time surveilla ... | 2006 | 17238486 |
| evaluation of the risk for tay-sachs disease in individuals of french canadian ancestry living in new england. | the assessment of risk for tay-sachs disease (tsd) in individuals of french canadian background living in new england is an important health issue. in preliminary studies of the enzyme-defined carrier frequency for tsd among franco-americans in new england, we found frequencies (1:53) higher than predicted from the incidence of infantile tsd in this region. we have now further evaluated the risk for tsd in the franco-american population of new england. | 2007 | 17259242 |
| tag polymorphisms at the a20 (tnfaip3) locus are associated with lower gene expression and increased risk of coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetes. | a20 or tumor necrosis factor (tnf)-induced protein 3 (tnfaip3) is a negative regulator of nuclear factor-kappab (nf-kappab). we have investigated whether polymorphisms in this gene are associated with increased atherosclerosis in diabetic patients. five tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) were typed in 479 type 2 diabetic patients from boston, including 239 coronary artery disease (cad)-positive case subjects and 240 cad-negative control subjects. two tag snps (rs5029930 and rs610604) wer ... | 2007 | 17259397 |
| open-access database of candidate associations from a genome-wide snp scan of the framingham heart study. | | 2007 | 17262019 |
| human eastern equine encephalitis in massachusetts: predictive indicators from mosquitoes collected at 10 long-term trap sites, 1979-2004. | human eastern equine encephalitis (eee) is a life-threatening mosquito-borne disease. to determine whether mosquito abundance and eee virus infection rates are associated with human eee disease, we evaluated retrospectively a total of 592,637 mosquitoes and onset dates for 20 confirmed human cases over 26 years in massachusetts. annual culiseta melanura populations at 10 defined sites decreased over the study period (p = 0.002). weekly infection rates and number of infected culiseta melanura cap ... | 2007 | 17297037 |
| the top 10 health stories of 2006. | | 2006 | 17297726 |
| breast milk iodine and perchlorate concentrations in lactating boston-area women. | breastfed infants rely on adequate maternal dietary iodine intake. | 2007 | 17311853 |
| blood lead levels of wild steller's eiders (polysticta stelleri) and black scoters (melanitta nigra) in alaska using a portable blood lead analyzer. | sea duck populations are declining in alaska. the reasons for the decline are not known; environmental lead exposure is one suspected cause. thirty wild steller's eider ducks (polysticta stelleri) and 40 wild black scoter ducks (melanitta nigra) were tested for blood lead levels using a portable blood lead analyzer (leadcare; esa, inc., chelmsford, massachusetts 01824, usa). sixty-seven and one-tenth percent of the sea ducks had undetectable blood lead levels, 30.0% had values indicating normal ... | 2006 | 17319136 |
| adult and pediatric emergency department sexually transmitted disease and hiv screening: programmatic overview and outcomes. | to measure the prevalence of gonorrhea, chlamydia, and human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) infection among emergency department (ed) patients who accept screening, and to assess treatment outcomes and risks for infection. | 2007 | 17331918 |
| america's changing attitudes toward homosexuality, civil unions, and same-gender marriage: 1977-2004. | on may 17, 2004, massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-gender marriage. from california to missouri, nearly all states now face legislative challenges to the once firmly entrenched notion that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. public opinion polls conducted from 1977 to 2004 found that americans' attitudes toward gay men and lesbians and marriages or civil unions for same-gender couples have evolved. opposition persists, however. the most recent data indicate sup ... | 2007 | 17388085 |
| human exposure to pbdes: associations of pbde body burdens with food consumption and house dust concentrations. | this study was designed to determine the body burden of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes) among first-time mothers in the greater boston, massachusetts area and to explore key routes of exposure. we collected breast milk samples from 46 first-time mothers, 2-8 weeks after birth. we also sampled house dust from the homes of a subset of participants by vacuuming commonly used areas. data on personal characteristics, diet, home furniture, and electrical devices were gathered from each particip ... | 2007 | 17396645 |
| observed finger behaviour during computer mouse use. | two-button computer mouse users may exhibit sustained, static finger lifting behaviours to prevent inadvertent activations by avoiding finger pressure on the buttons, which leads to prolonged, static finger extensor muscle loading. one hundred graduate students were observed during normal computer work in a university computer facility to qualify and quantify the prevalence of lifted finger behaviours and extended finger postures, as well as wrist/forearm and grip behaviour, during specific mous ... | 2008 | 17400173 |
| genetic analysis of human hematological malignancies rewarded. | | 2007 | 17404608 |
| devolution of employment and training policy: the case of older workers. | the case for the devolution of employment and training programs has traditionally been based on the supply side argument that state and local governments are in the best position to assess the training needs of their disadvantaged workers. we provide a different perspective by focusing on the demand side of the labor market and the link between aiding older workers and fostering economic growth. we illustrate the importance of this focus by examining the labor market in massachusetts, where the ... | 2002 | 17432476 |
| klebsiella pneumoniae necrotizing fasciitis and septic arthritis: an appearance in the western hemisphere. | necrotizing fasciitis caused by klebsiella pneumoniae is rare, with 11 documented cases in the literature, all occurring in asia and the middle east. these reports have become more frequent in recent years in association with the emergence of the highly virulent k1 capsular serotype of klebsiella. we report a case of klebsiella necrotizing fasciitis and con-current septic arthritis in the western hemisphere. | 2007 | 17437368 |
| auto identification technology and its impact on patient safety in the operating room of the future. | automatic identification technologies, such as bar coding and radio frequency identification, are ubiquitous in everyday life but virtually nonexistent in the operating room. user expectations, based on everyday experience with automatic identification technologies, have generated much anticipation that these systems will improve readiness, workflow, and safety in the operating room, with minimal training requirements. we report, in narrative form, a multi-year experience with various automatic ... | 2007 | 17442879 |
| lyme disease--united states, 2003-2005. | lyme disease is caused by the spirochete borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks (ixodes spp.). early manifestations of infection include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. left untreated, late manifestations involving the joints, heart, and nervous system can occur. a healthy people 2010 objective (14-8) is to reduce the annual incidence of lyme disease to 9.7 new cases per 100,000 population in 1 ... | 2007 | 17568368 |
| synthetic musk fragrances in human milk from the united states. | synthetic musk compounds are used as additives in many consumer products, including perfumes, deodorants, and detergents. earlier studies have reported the occurrence of synthetic musks in environmental and wildlife samples collected in the united states. in this study, human breast milk samples collected from massachusetts, were analyzed for the determination of concentrations of synthetic musks such as musk xylene (1-tert-butyl-3,5-dimethyl-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene), musk ketone (4-tert-butyl-2,6 ... | 2007 | 17612154 |
| xenobiotic metabolizing enzyme gene polymorphisms predict response to lung volume reduction surgery. | in the national emphysema treatment trial (nett), marked variability in response to lung volume reduction surgery (lvrs) was observed. we sought to identify genetic differences which may explain some of this variability. | 2007 | 17686149 |
| modifying effects of the hfe polymorphisms on the association between lead burden and cognitive decline. | as iron and lead promote oxidative damage, and hemochromatosis (hfe) gene polymorphisms increase body iron burden, hfe variant alleles may modify the lead burden and cognitive decline relationship. | 2007 | 17687449 |
| the association of abuse and symptoms suggestive of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: results from the boston area community health survey. | to determine the effect of reported sexual, physical, or emotional abuse on the symptoms suggestive of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (cp/cpps) and to determine the effect of race/ethnicity on these patterns. | 2007 | 17763912 |
| nutrient intakes in women and risks of anophthalmia and microphthalmia in their offspring. | there is a paucity of information about risk factors for the human eye anomalies anophthalmia and microphthalmia. in this population-based case-control study we investigated whether periconceptional intakes of supplemental folic acid, dietary folate, vitamin a, and several other nutrients were associated with these eye defects. | 2007 | 17847120 |
| a 100k genome-wide association scan for diabetes and related traits in the framingham heart study: replication and integration with other genome-wide datasets. | to use genome-wide fixed marker arrays and improved analytical tools to detect genetic associations with type 2 diabetes in a carefully phenotyped human sample. | 2007 | 17848626 |
| the framingham heart study, on its way to becoming the gold standard for cardiovascular genetic epidemiology? | the framingham heart study, founded in 1948 to examine the epidemiology of cardiovascular disease in a small town outside of boston, has become the worldwide standard for cardiovascular epidemiology. it is among the longest running, most comprehensively characterized multi-generational studies in the world. such seminal findings as the effects of smoking and high cholesterol on heart disease came from the framingham heart study. at the time of publication these were novel cardiovascular disease ... | 2007 | 17916250 |
| blinded comparison of computer-aided detection with human second reading in screening mammography. | the purpose of this study was to compare a human second reader with computer-aided detection (cad) for the reduction of false-negative cases by a primary radiologist. we retrospectively reviewed our clinical practice. | 2007 | 17954651 |
| blinded comparison of computer-aided detection with human second reading in screening mammography: the importance of the question and the critical numbers game. | | 2007 | 17954652 |
| expanding global hiv treatment: case studies from the field. | in the last 25 years, human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) has become the leading infectious killer of adults globally, with an estimated 44 million people infected with the virus worldwide. most of these individuals live in poor regions of the world, particularly sub-saharan africa. although a great deal of work has been done in identifying and treating individuals with the disease, there has been little action to date to address the complex socioeconomic factors that lie at the heart of this glo ... | 2008 | 17954668 |
| polybrominated diphenyl ethers and organochlorine pesticides in human breast milk from massachusetts, usa. | concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes), and organochlorine pesticides (ocps; ddts, hchs, chls, and hcb) were measured in human breast milk samples collected across massachusetts, usa, in 2004. seventeen pbde congeners were found in the samples, ranging in concentration from 0.06 to 1910 ng g(-1) lipid wt. bde-47 (2,2',4,4'-tetrabde), bde-99 (2,2',4,4',5-pentabde), and bde-100 (2,2',4,4',6-pentabde) were the major congeners detected in breast milk samples. overall mean (+/-sd) c ... | 2007 | 17968447 |
| maternal exposure to herpes simplex virus and risk of psychosis among adult offspring. | viral exposure during gestation is thought to be a risk factor for schizophrenia. previous studies have indicated that prenatal exposure to herpes simplex virus type 2 (hsv-2) may be a risk for the subsequent development of schizophrenia in some populations. in this investigation, we tested a large and diverse population to assess the risk of psychoses among offspring of mothers with serological evidence of hsv-2 infection. | 2008 | 17981263 |
| hidde ploegh: immunologist, journeyman. interview by nicole lebrasseur. | from the moment he finished his ph.d., hidde ploegh has been a wanted man. invited to join one institution after another, he always packed with him his keen interests in the immune system. | 2007 | 17984316 |
| effect of sediment remediation on polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations in tomatoes grown near new bedford harbor. | measurements of polychlorinated biphenyl (pcb) congener concentrations and profiles from produce grown near new bedford harbor, massachusetts, usa, before, during, and after remediation of pcb-contaminated sediment are presented. samples of tomatoes collected from locations upwind and downwind relative to harbor contamination are compared with the use of measurements of 47 individual pcb congeners. the pcb concentration in the locally grown tomatoes, as expressed by the sum of congeners, is high ... | 2007 | 18046797 |
| charting the terrain of touch. | discusses the laboratory for human and machine haptics at the massachusetts institute of technology, nicknamed the touch lab, which investigates new technologies involved in the sense of touch. | 2000 | 18050542 |
| using the rate of positive high-risk hpv test results for asc-us together with the asc-us/sil ratio in evaluating the performance of cytopathologists. | we reviewed our experience with 2 indicators of cytopathologist performance: the relative frequency of the interpretations atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (asc-us) and squamous intraepithelial lesion (sil) and the frequency of positive test results for high-risk human papillomavirus (hr-hpv) dna associated with a cytologic interpretation of asc-us. data derived for 9 cytopathologists were reviewed. asc-us/sil ranged from 0.99 to 4.02 (mean, 1.77) in 2005 and from 0.82 to 3.6 ... | 2008 | 18089494 |
| impact of september 11 on refugees and those seeking asylum. | september 11, 2001 profoundly affected the american public. we share the views of a cohort of refugees and those seeking asylum from the boston center for refugee health and human rights. of the 63 individuals from 18 countries interviewed, many had concerns about their personal safety following september 11, as well as fears related to deportation, arrest, detention, imprisonment, discrimination, physical violence and the destruction of property, and war. asylum seekers were more likely than re ... | 2007 | 18089639 |
| ppargc1a variation associated with dna damage, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases: the boston puerto rican health study. | individuals with type 2 diabetes exhibit higher dna damage and increased risk of cardiovascular disease (cvd). however, mechanisms underlying the association between dna damage and development of type 2 diabetes and cvd are not understood. we sought to link peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1 alpha (ppargc1a), a master transcriptional regulator of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and cellular energy metabolism, with dna damage, type 2 diabetes, and cvd. | 2008 | 18162502 |
| pcb-containing wood floor finish is a likely source of elevated pcbs in residents' blood, household air and dust: a case study of exposure. | polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs) are persistent pollutants identified worldwide as human blood and breast milk contaminants. because they bioaccumulate, consumption of meat, fish, and dairy products predicts human blood concentrations. pcbs were also used widely in building materials, including caulks and paints, but few studies have evaluated the contribution of these exposures to body burden. | 2008 | 18201376 |
| dna sequence variants in the loxl1 gene are associated with pseudoexfoliation glaucoma in a u.s. clinic-based population with broad ethnic diversity. | pseudoexfoliation syndrome is a major risk factor for glaucoma in many populations throughout the world. using a u.s. clinic-based case control sample with broad ethnic diversity, we show that three common snps in loxl1 previously associated with pseudoexfoliation in nordic populations are significantly associated with pseudoexfoliation syndrome and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma. | 2008 | 18254956 |
| evaluation of pathways for release of rift valley fever virus into domestic ruminant livestock, ruminant wildlife, and human populations in the continental united states. | to evaluate the feasibility for rift valley fever virus (rvfv) to enter the continental united states by various routes as well as to identify states in which domestic and wild ruminant and human populations would be most vulnerable to exposure to rvfv. | 2008 | 18279085 |
| social responsibility, international development, and institutional commitment: lessons from the boston university experience. | boston university (bu) has a long history of a strong social mission and commitment to service. in august 2003, bu made an institutional commitment to work with the country of lesotho to tackle the human capital implications of the hiv/aids epidemic. surrounded by south africa, and with a population of two million, lesotho, a stable democracy, suffers the world's third-highest adult hiv prevalence rate of about 24%. the initiation of the program required a substantial initial institutional inves ... | 2008 | 18303358 |
| pediatric population size is associated with geographic patterns of acute respiratory infections among adults. | we measure the association between proportion of children and specific pediatric age groups in a local population with the timing and rate of adult emergency department (ed) utilization for influenza and other acute respiratory infections. | 2008 | 18374453 |
| cardiac autonomic dysfunction: effects from particulate air pollution and protection by dietary methyl nutrients and metabolic polymorphisms. | particulate air pollution is associated with cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. to help identify mechanisms of action and protective/susceptibility factors, we evaluated whether the effect of particulate matter <2.5 mum in aerodynamic diameter (pm(2.5)) on heart rate variability was modified by dietary intakes of methyl nutrients (folate, vitamins b(6) and b(12), methionine) and related gene polymorphisms (c677t methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase [mthfr] and c1420t cytoplasmic serine hydro ... | 2008 | 18378616 |
| do pediatricians manage influenza differently than internists? | little is known about how pediatricians or internists manage influenza symptoms. recent guidelines on antiviral prescribing by the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) make almost no distinction between adults and children. our objective was to describe how pediatricians in two large academic medical institutions manage influenza and compare them to internists. | 2008 | 18435850 |
| tipping point, over the top, or just noncompliance as usual? | | 2008 | 18457226 |
| perfluorinated compounds in human milk from massachusetts, u.s.a. | perfluorinated compounds (pfcs), notably perfluorooctanesulfonate (pfos) and perfluorooctanoic acid (pfoa), have been reported in human blood. furthermore, the occurrence of pfcs in the blood of newborn babies, coupled with the need to study the potential association of pfc exposure with birth outcomes in neonates, suggests the need for determining the sources and magnitude of exposure in infants. in this study, nine pfcs were measured in 45 human breast milk samples collected in 2004 from massa ... | 2008 | 18497172 |
| moving nursing science forward within the framework of the roy adaptation model. | in 1999, the boston-based adaptation in nursing research society associates published their analysis of roy adaptation model-based research. this earlier analysis supported the model's conceptual framework, its adaptive processes, and the influences that effect human responses. the purpose of this article is to describe more recent research within the context of the roy adaptation model's structural framework, and ongoing developments that include expanded research programs, middle-range theory ... | 2008 | 18544788 |
| long-term care facilities: a cornucopia of viral pathogens. | to determine the frequency and types of respiratory viruses circulating in boston long-term care facilities (ltcfs) during a 3-year period. | 2008 | 18557966 |
| risk factors for proteinuria in hiv-infected and -uninfected hispanic drug users. | proteinuria may be an early marker of chronic kidney disease in human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)-infected patients with coexisting chronic hepatitis and/or drug use. minorities are at greater risk of chronic kidney disease. data are limited about risk factors for proteinuria in hispanic drug users with and without hiv infection. | 2008 | 18572293 |
| colostrum iodine and perchlorate concentrations in boston-area women: a cross-sectional study. | to measure levels of colostrum iodine, which has not been previously measured, and perchlorate and cotinine (a surrogate for thiocyanate derived from cigarette smoke) in women up to 60 h postpartum. perchlorate and thiocyanate are environmental inhibitors of iodide transport into the thyroid and lactating breast. | 2009 | 18616704 |
| brief report: lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus transmitted through solid organ transplantation--massachusetts, 2008. | lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (lcmv) is a rodent-borne arenavirus found worldwide. house mice (mus musculus) are the natural reservoir, but lcmv also can infect other wild, pet, and laboratory rodents (e.g., rats, mice, guinea pigs, and hamsters). humans can be infected through exposure to rodent excreta. person-to-person transmission has occurred only through maternal-fetal transmission and solid organ transplantation. lcmv infection in humans can be asymptomatic or cause a spectrum of ill ... | 2008 | 18650788 |
| repetitive stress symptoms in radiology: prevalence and response to ergonomic interventions. | to determine the prevalence of repetitive stress symptoms among radiologists working in a archiving and communication systems (pacs) environment and to assess their responses to ergonomic interventions. | 2008 | 18657788 |
| fatal fires associated with smoking during long-term oxygen therapy--maine, massachusetts, new hampshire, and oklahoma, 2000-2007. | approximately 1 million persons in the united states receive long-term oxygen therapy (ltot) annually through the medicare program, most often for smoking-related lung disease. at 2:10 a.m. on december 14, 2007, a fire occurred in a public housing project for the elderly in westbrook, maine. approximately 60 residents were evacuated; six were transported to a hospital for smoke inhalation. the fire was caused unintentionally by a woman aged 57 years who was an overnight guest of a relative who l ... | 2008 | 18685553 |
| discussions about preventive services: a qualitative study. | elderly minority patients are less likely to receive influenza vaccination and colorectal cancer screening than are other patients. communication between primary care providers (pcps) and patients may affect service receipt. | 2008 | 18768086 |
| talc use, variants of the gstm1, gstt1, and nat2 genes, and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer. | epidemiologic evidence suggests a possible association between genital use of talcum powder and risk of epithelial ovarian cancer; however, the biological basis for this association is not clear. we analyzed interactions between talc use and genes in detoxification pathways [glutathione s-transferase m1 (gstm1), glutathione s-transferase t1 (gstt1), and n-acetyltransferase 2 (nat2)] to assess whether the talc/ovarian cancer association is modified by variants of genes potentially involved in the ... | 2008 | 18768514 |
| point-of-care glucose and hemoglobin a1c in emergency department patients without known diabetes: implications for opportunistic screening. | the objectives were to evaluate the correlation between random glucose and hemoglobin a1c (hba1c) in emergency department (ed) patients without known diabetes and to determine the ability of diabetes screening in the ed to predict outpatient diabetes. | 2008 | 18785943 |
| patient risks, outcomes, and costs of voluntary hiv testing at five testing sites within a medical center. | the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) recommends offering human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) testing to all patients in all high hiv-prevalence clinical settings. we evaluated programmatic aspects of hiv testing across multiple clinical settings within a single medical center. | 2008 | 18828416 |
| outbreak of listeria monocytogenes infections associated with pasteurized milk from a local dairy--massachusetts, 2007. | on november 27, 2007, a local health officer in central massachusetts contacted the massachusetts department of public health (mdph) to report listeriosis in a man aged 87 years. pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pfge) performed on the patient's listeria monocytogenes isolate produced a pattern indistinguishable from that of isolates from three other cases identified in residents of central massachusetts in june, october, and early november 2007. mdph, in collaboration with local public health o ... | 2008 | 18846031 |
| acculturation of host individuals: immigrants and personal networks. | there has been a vast amount of research on the changes experienced by immigrants, but little is known about the changes experienced by host individuals. this article focuses on the role of host individuals in the networks of relations between immigrant populations and the communities from the dominant culture, as well as the changes experienced by host individuals because of their continuous contact with immigrants. this research applied a network approach to the study of the acculturation of h ... | 2008 | 18923893 |
| using stem cells and reprogramming to understand disease. | kevin eggan received his phd in biology from the massachusetts institute of technology in february 2003. he is currently an assistant professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at harvard university. dr eggan has devoted the last 7 years to performing stem cell research. he is currently leading a research group that is investigating the mechanisms regulating epigenetic reprogramming after somatic cell nuclear transfer and using nuclear transfer techniques to derive disease-specific human em ... | 2008 | 18947303 |
| influenza vaccination in adolescents with high-risk conditions. | we assessed influenza vaccination rates from 1992 to 2002, individual continuity of vaccination, and missed opportunities for vaccination in adolescents with high-risk conditions. | 2008 | 18977969 |
| personal genomes: a disruptive personality, disrupted. | | 2008 | 18987711 |
| movie magic in the clinic: computer-generated characters for automated health counseling. | in this presentation, i demonstrate how many of the technologies used in movie special effects and games have been successfully used in health education and behavior change interventions. computer-animated health counselors simulate human face-to-face dialogue as a computer interface medium, including not only verbal behavior but nonverbal conversational behavior such as hand gesture, body posture shifts, and facial display of emotion. this technology has now been successfully used in a wide ran ... | 2008 | 18999232 |
| the effects of abcg5/g8 polymorphisms on plasma hdl cholesterol concentrations depend on smoking habit in the boston puerto rican health study. | low hdl-cholesterol (hdl-c) is associated with an increased risk for atherosclerosis, and concentrations are modulated by genetic factors and environmental factors such as smoking. our objective was to assess whether the association of common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (snps) at abcg5/g8 (i18429g>a, i7892t>c, gln604gluc>g, 5u145a>c, tyr54cysa>g, asp19hisg>c, i14222a>g, and thr400lysc>a) genes with hdl-c differs according to smoking habit. abcg5/g8 snps were genotyped in 845 participants (24 ... | 2009 | 19005228 |
| elevated house dust and serum concentrations of pbdes in california: unintended consequences of furniture flammability standards? | studies show higher house dust and body burden levels of pbde flame retardants in north america than europe; but little is known about exposure variation within north america, where california's furniture flammability standard affects pbde use. we compared dust samples from 49 homes in two california communities with 120 massachusetts homes and with other published studies. dust concentrations [median (range) ng/g] in california homes of bde-47, -99, and -100 were 2700 (112-107,000), 3800 (102-1 ... | 2008 | 19031918 |