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A Brand

Publications and source records attributed to A Brand.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Bovine respiratory syncytial virus antibodies in non-bovine species.

To study the role of non-bovine species in the epidemiology of bovine respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections, sera obtained from 9 non-bovine animal species and from humans were examined for bovine RSV specific antibodies. Sera were mainly from animals and humans which had been in contact with cattle. Forty sera of each species were tested in an RSV specific whole virus ELISA as well as in a peptide based ELISA, that was developed to measure antibodies specific for bovine RSV. Antibodies directed against RSV were detected in over 50% of sera obtained from sheep, goat, cattle and human beings, and anti-RSV activity was also found in some roe and dogs and one horse. Antibodies to bovine RSV were found in sera of all tested cattle, 11 (27.5%) goats and in some other individual animals: 3 horses, 2 roe, 1 cat and 1 dog. These results indicate that of the investigated species, besides cattle only goats might play a role in the epidemiology of bovine RSV.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1995

Antibodies against p53 are associated with poor prognosis of colorectal cancer.

Mutation of the p53 gene is a common event in colorectal cancer. This alteration can result in cellular accumulation of p53 and may also induce p53 antibodies. Accumulation of p53 in tumour cells has been associated with poor prognosis of colorectal cancer. We tested preoperative sera from 255 patients with colorectal cancer by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A total of 70.2% had reactivity that was higher than the 'low' control serum. Employing a cut-off level of 10% of the 'high' control sample, 25.5% of the patients were positive for p53 antibodies. The presence of p53 antibodies correlated with the following prognostic factors: histological differentiation grade, shape of the tumour, and tumour invasion into blood vessels. Patients with p53 antibodies were shown to have decreased survival and decreased disease-free survival. Specifically for patients with cancer stage A and B1 the presence of p53 antibodies selected a subgroup with poor prognosis.

Antibodies, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1995

Adjuvant high-dose intravenous gammaglobulin in the treatment of pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid: experience in six patients.

At present, initial high-dose prednisone is the treatment of choice for patients with pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid. To reduce the risks associated with long-term corticosteroid treatment, other immunosuppressants are often given as steroid-sparing agents. Occasionally, the dose of steroids cannot be reduced. In this study, we report six patients with pemphigus vulgaris, pemphigus foliaceus and bullous pemphigoid, in whom the daily corticosteroid dose could only be tapered to acceptable, effective, maintenance levels following treatment with high-dose intravenous gammaglobulin.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

The differentiation of Staphylococcus aureus from other Micrococcaceae isolated from bovine mammary glands.

Haemolysin production, the slide coagulase test and the tube coagulase test were assessed for their capability to differentiate Staphylococcus aureus among other Micrococcaceae in 199 isolates from udders of cows in herds with a low bulk milk somatic cell count. The API-Staph test was used as a reference. Haemolysin production was less effective in identifying Staph. aureus among Micrococcaceae than a combination of other tests. Differences were found in the predictive values of results from diagnostic protocols in which the slide coagulase test was performed on all Micrococcaceae, or on beta-haemolysin-negative Micrococcaceae only. Diagnostic protocols in which haemolysin production was combined with the results of the other tests resulted in excellent diagnostic performance and a reduction in diagnostic procedures. Recommendations for routine Staph. aureus identification in bovine mastitis bacteriology are given.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Diagnostic value of GM1 antibodies in motor neuron disorders and neuropathies: a meta-analysis.

We performed a meta-analysis on the diagnostic value of IgM anti-GM1 antibodies. The reported frequencies of IgM anti-GM1 antibodies ranged from 0 to 100% for patients with multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN), from 0 to 33% in the Guillain-Barré syndrome, from 0 to 65% in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), from 0 to 77% in chronic inflammatory demyelinating neuropathy, and from 0 to 81% in lower motor neuron disease (LMND). However, using funnel graphs and a chi-square test we determined that the method of ELISA was the most important factor explaining these differences. After allowing for two factors--the use of detergent and the duration and temperature of serum incubation-studies became homogeneous in all but the LMND group of method A (no detergent, duration of serum incubation 5 hours) and the ALS group of method B (no detergent, duration of serum incubation at least 12 hours [overnight]). Since the anti-GM1 antibody assay serves to confirm clinical suspicion of MMN rather than to exclude the disease, specificity is more important than sensitivity. ELISA methods that do not use detergent and that incubate serum overnight resulted in a specificity of 90% and sensitivity of 38% in the comparison of MMN and LMND. With these values we calculated incremental ruling-in and ruling-out gain curves. Prior probabilities between 20 and 60% for having MMN changed to post-test probabilities between 50 and 85%, which is of clinical importance. In conclusion, ELISA is a useful diagnostic test to demonstrate IgM anti-GM1 antibodies provided the methods do not use detergent and do incubate serum overnight.

Antibodies↗
PubMed1995

Detection of subclinical mastitis from on-line milking parlor data.

A model, based on automatically collected data, was developed for detection of subclinical mastitis. The logistic regression model was based on the following variables: milk electrical conductivity, milk production, parity, and DIM. Subclinical mastitis was defined as a minimal period of 1 wk in which the SCC was > 500 x 10(3) cells/ml. In contrast, periods were defined as healthy if the SCC was < 200 x 10(3) cells/ml. The resulting model had a sensitivity of 55% and specificity of 90% for individual milkings. For periods of 14 milkings, sensitivity was 54% and specificity 92% when the threshold for that period was > 6 electrical conductivity signals for high SCC. Based on these test characteristics, the model could be used as an initial screening tool in a herd with a high incidence of subclinical mastitis. Cows with a signal would have a higher probability of being diseased than the total population. In such herds, separation of milk from the signaled cows might be a possible management strategy to reduce the SCC in the bulk milk tank.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Comparison of analysis techniques for on-line detection of clinical mastitis.

Three techniques were compared for analysis of automatically collected data from the milking parlor. Mammary quarters showing signs of clinical mastitis were compared with randomly selected healthy quarters. Automatic data were analyzed from the milking on which the milkers observed clinical mastitis as well as data from the two prior milkings. Electrical conductivity of milk was not corrected for individual cows. Milking parlor data were preprocessed so that information on the electrical conductivity pattern during a milking was retained. Principal component analysis was used to verify whether variation in the data was caused by mastitis. Performance of logistic regression models for detection of clinical mastitis was compared with that of backpropagation neural networks. Variation in the quarter data was caused by mastitis. Automatic data from infected quarters did not always differ from data from healthy quarters, especially from the two prior milkings. The detection performance of the logistic regression model was similar to that of the neural networks. When both models were tested on the development data, sensitivity was approximately 75%, and specificity was approximately 90% at the milking of mastitis observation. Detection results were lower for the prior milkings. Therefore, not all incidences of clinical mastitis cases could be detected before clinical signs occurred.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

A knowledge-based system for diagnosis of mastitis problems at the herd level. 1. Concepts.

Much specialized knowledge is involved in the diagnosis of a mastitis problem at the herd level. Because of their problem-solving capacities, knowledge-based systems can be very useful to support the diagnosis of mastitis problems in the herd. Conditional causal models with multiple layers are used as a representation scheme for the development of a knowledge-based system for diagnosing mastitis problems. Construction of models requires extensive cooperation between the knowledge engineer and the domain expert. The first layer consists of three overview models: the general overview conditional causal model, the contagious overview conditional causal model, and the environmental overview conditional causal model, giving a causal description of the pathways through which mastitis problems can occur. The conditional causal model for primary udder defense and the conditional causal model for host defense are attached to the overview models at the second layer, and the conditional causal model for deep primary udder defense is attached to the conditional causal model for the primary udder defense at the third layer. Based on quantitative user input, the system determines the qualitative values of the nodes that are used for reasoning. The developed models showed that conditional causal models are a good method for modeling the mechanisms involved in a mastitis problem. The system needs to be extended in order to be useful in practical circumstances.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

A knowledge-based system for diagnosis of mastitis problems at the herd level. 2. Machine milking.

A knowledge-based system for the diagnosis of mastitis problems at the herd level must search for possible causes, including malfunctioning milking machines or incorrect milking technique. A knowledge-based system on general mechanisms of mastitis infection, using hierarchical conditional causal models, was extended. Model building entailed extensive cooperation between the knowledge engineer and a domain expert. The extended knowledge-based system contains 12 submodels underlying the overview models. Nine submodels were concerned with mastitis problems arising from machine milking. These models are briefly described. The knowledge-based system has been validated by other experts after which the models were adjusted slightly. The final knowledge-based system was validated to data collected at 17 commercial dairy farms with high SCC in the bulk milk. Reports containing the farm data were accompanied by recommendations made by a dairy farm advisor. This validation showed good agreement between the knowledge-based system and the dairy farm advisors. The described knowledge-based system is a good tool for dairy farm advisors to solve herd mastitis problems caused by a malfunctioning milking machine or incorrect milking technique.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The role of splenectomy in the treatment of relapsing thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is a serious disorder of unknown etiology. Clinical findings are the result of vascular occlusions by platelet aggregates. Treatment with plasma exchange, often used in combination with corticosteroids, vincristine, aspirin, and dipyridamole, has reduced mortality to 20%. Relapses may occur even after long disease-free intervals. In this report we describe our experience with splenectomy in patients with relapsing TTP. Between July 1978 and March 1994, 16 patients with TTP were treated in our hospital. Five of the 13 patients surviving the first episode of TTP had relapses. Most relapses were treated as the first episode of TTP with plasma exchange with fresh-frozen plasma, followed by plasma infusions, corticosteroids, and vincristine. Sometimes aspirin and dipyridamole were added. Splenectomy was performed after five relapses in the first two patients and after two and three relapses in the other patients. Before splenectomy the disease-free interval varied from 3 weeks to 27 months and the incidence rate of relapses was 1.5 relapse/patient/year. None of the patients had relapses after splenectomy. The mean follow-up after splenectomy is 39 months with a range of 9-62 months. We conclude that patients with relapsing TTP can benefit from splenectomy, since it seems to increase disease-free intervals. Further investigation is necessary to understand the role of the spleen in the pathogenesis of TTP.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Randomised controlled trial comparing transfusion of leucocyte-depleted or buffy-coat-depleted blood in surgery for colorectal cancer.

In retrospective studies, perioperative blood transfusions were associated with poor prognosis after surgery for cancer and were a major independent risk factor for postoperative bacterial infection. Leucocyte-depleted, in contrast to buffy-coat-depleted, blood has no immunosuppressive effects in transplantation and so might lack detrimental effects on cancer prognosis and postoperative infections. We studied this hypothesis in a controlled trial by randomly allocating patients to receive either leucocyte-depleted red cells or packed cells without buffy coat when blood was needed. Between 1987 and 1990, 871 eligible patients with colorectal cancer, including 697 patients operated upon with curative intent, were randomised in the 16 participating hospitals. Neither the eligible group nor the curative group showed significant differences between the two trial transfusions in survival, disease-free survival, cancer recurrence rates, or overall infection rates after an average follow-up of 36 months. Patients who had a curative resection and who received blood of any sort had a lower 3-year survival than non-transfused patients (69% vs 81%, p = 0.001) and a higher infection rate (39% vs 24%, p < 0.001). Colorectal cancer recurrence rates, however, were not influenced by blood transfusion (30% vs 26%, p = 0.22). These combined observations confirm the association between blood transfusion and poor patient survival but indicate that the relation is not due to promotion of cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1994

Recognition of minor histocompatibility antigens on lymphocytic and myeloid leukemic cells by cytotoxic T-cell clones.

Clinical studies indicated an enhanced antileukemic effect of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT), as compared with autologous BMT. After allogeneic HLA-identical BMT, donor-derived cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) directed at minor histocompatibility (mH) antigens on the recipients, tissues can be shown. To evaluate the antileukemic reactivity of mH antigen-specific CTLs, we analyzed the expression of mH antigens on circulating lymphocytic and myeloid leukemic cells. We show that the defined mH specificities HA-1 through HA-5 and H-Y are present on leukemic cells, indicating that mH antigen-specific CTLs are capable of HLA class I-restricted antigen-specific lysis of leukemic cells. Compared with interleukin-2-stimulated normal lymphocytes, leukemic cells of lymphocytic origin are less susceptible to T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity by the HA-2 mH antigen-specific CTL and the anti-HLA-A2 CTL clone. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is impaired expression of the LFA-1 adhesion molecule. Our study suggests that mH antigen-specific HLA class I-restricted CD8+ CTLs may be involved in the graft-versus-leukemia reactivity after allogeneic BMT.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1994

Anti-GM1 antibodies in patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg).

Patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) and with a chronic polyneuropathy (non-CIDP) were studied for the presence of anti-GM1 antibodies. In pretreatment sera of CIDP patients, we found IgG anti-GM1 antibodies in 23%, IgM in 7%, and IgA in 14%. Predominantly motor involvement was associated with IgG and IgM anti-GM1 antibodies in CIDP patients (P = 0.002). Improvement after intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) therapy was not associated with anti-GM1 antibody titer before or after treatment. Anti-GM1 antibody titers before onset of treatment was not related to poor clinical outcome, although large clinical improvements after IVIg therapy were observed less often (P = 0.057) in patients with high titer anti-GM1 antibodies before treatment.

Action Potentials↗