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Biomedical subjects

J Haas

Publications and source records attributed to J Haas.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

QGB: a system for querying sequence database fields and features.

We have developed a general system, QGB, for performing complex queries on the information in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases, including queries over the structural features of sequences implied in the FEATURE TABLE. Queries are formed in a Structured Query Language (SQL)-like syntax with language extensions to support complex types (e.g., sets, ordered sets, and records) appropriate for representing and querying sequence data. A novel aspect of QGB is its ability to deduce missing features and infer relationships among features as a consequence of constructing a parse tree of sequence structure from information described in the FEATURE TABLE. The grammar for the parse tree is implemented in a customized form of the Definite Clause Grammar syntax of the logic programming language Prolog. The logic grammar formalism was chosen because it provides a perspicuous representation for features and constraints, and Prolog provides an execution model for the grammar rules. Construction of the parse tree also identifies inconsistencies and errors in the FEATURE TABLE that can in some cases be corrected automatically and used to generate an augmented version of the table.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Specific diagnosis of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy by polymerase chain reaction.

Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 34 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 28 patients with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) were analyzed. As controls, 116 samples were evaluated from 82 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected patients and 1 HIV-1-negative patient. Of the HIV-1-positive patients, 23 had cerebral toxoplasmosis, 10 had HIV leukoencephalopathy, and 49 had other neurologic complications. Detection of JC virus (JCV) DNA in CSF was increased 10-fold by the addition of carrier DNA before phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol extraction. The primer pair JC 26/29, from the VP1/large T region, had a limit of detection of 10(5) JCV DNA molecules/100 microL. The primer pair JC 36/39, located in the large T gene region, had a 100-fold lower limit of detection. With JC 26/29, the sensitivity was 43% (12/28) and specificity was 100%. Using JC 36/39, sensitivity increased to 82% (23/28), and false-positive results were not observed. Diagnosis of PML is greatly aided by PCR analysis of CSF.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Neurological examinations after liver transplantation concerning patients under corticosteroid immunosuppression and either FK 506 or cyclosporin.

To study the neurological sequelae in liver transplanted recipients, 25 patients were followed up between 5 and 30 months after transplantation and another 14 patients were seen before and after transplantation. Physical examination took special note of tremor and polyneuropathy; additionally, patients estimated concentration and memory, tremor, paraesthesias and sleep disturbances on a self-rating scale. Tremor was reported to be preexistent in 50% of the later FK 506 and cyclosporin group and only temporarily rose afterwards. Twenty-eight percent complained of tremor and 20% said that it interfered mildly with daily activity. Only 2 of 39 patients showed new signs of polyneuropathy. Concentration and memory improved significantly after transplantation. In the second group of patients, MRI, EEG, lumbar puncture and neuropsychological tests were done just before and routinely after transplantation, revealing numerous preexisting neurological deficits with only singular changes afterwards.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗
PubMed1994

Reproductive effects of inorganic borates on male employees: birth rate assessment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential for reproductive effects of inorganic borate compounds on male employees. The standardized birth ratio (SBR) methodology was used to assess fertility among male employees, using live births as the measured end point. The ratio of female to male births was also assessed. Data were collected via questionnaires and telephone follow-up interviews. Medical insurance records were assessed for nonresponders. Exposures were assessed using three semiquantitative categories. We found a statistically significant increase in fertility as measured by live births among the employees of the inorganic borate facility. There does not appear to be any decrease in fertility due to exposures either as analyzed by the borate exposure categories or over time, which is an indirect measure of exposures. We found a nonstatistically significant increase in the percentage of female offspring. This increase was due, not to a deficiency of male offspring, but rather to a marked increase in the numbers of female offspring. This increase in percentage female offspring does not appear to be related to exposures to inorganic borates. Based on the data, exposures to inorganic borates do not appear to adversely affect fertility in this population.

Birth Rate↗
PubMed1994

[Breast cancer in the man: a report of 30 patients].

A retrospective review of male patients suffering from breast cancer seen over an 18-year period was carried out at the Department of Clinical Oncology of the University Hospital of Graz. Thirty evaluable cases were analysed. Eight patients had Stage I, 11 had Stage II, 8 had Stage III, and 3 had Stage IV disease. Local control was achieved in the majority, 29/30 (97%), by either surgery alone or combined surgery and radiation therapy. Local recurrence developed in 2 (7%) patients. Further 7 (23%) patients developed distant metastases and were treated in accordance with policies developed for the appropriate stage of the disease in females, with hormonal manipulation for hormone receptor-positive and -unknown patients and chemotherapy for hormone receptor-negative patients. The corrected five-year survival (Kaplan-Meier) is 83% for the entire group, 100% for patients with Stage I disease, 86% in Stage II, and 67% in Stage III and IV disease, respectively. This corresponds well with the results in recently published series. Stage of disease at initial presentation was a significant factor determining survival in our investigation. Our own data as well as recent data from literature suggest that with respect to TNM Stages in mammary carcinoma, there is no prognostic difference between men and women. To what extent improved local control by adequate local therapy or systemic adjuvant treatment modalities may improve overall survival remains to be discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Effect of cyclosporin on kidney proteolytic enzymes in men and rats.

Cyclosporin (CsA) induces autophagolysosomes in proximal tubules. A major lysosomal function is degradation of cell proteins. Cathepsin B and L are marker enzymes for the activity of lysosomal protein degradation. Therefore we measured cathepsin activities in microdissected proximal tubule segments and urine from rats treated with CsA, 30 mg/24 h by gavage for 42 days. Cathepsin activity was increased in proximal tubule by 117% and in 24-h urine by 37% compared to controls. Unchanged values of serum cathepsin activity and of proteinuria excluded increased glomerular filtration or decreased tubular absorption as major source of urine cathepsins. Therefore urine cathepsin excretion reflected tubular cathepsin activity. Urine cathepsin excretion was also measured in patients without renal disease treated with CsA for multiple sclerosis (MS). It was increased by 59% in patients with CsA serum values > 120 ng/ml compared to MS patients without CsA or with serum CsA < 120 ng/ml. Urine cathepsin excretion increased linearly with serum CsA (P < 0.001). The data suggest that cathepsin activity is increased in proximal tubules of CsA-treated patients. Hence CsA may stimulate protein degradation in proximal tubules of men and rats.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Pelvic lymphadenectomy in the surgical treatment of endometrial cancer.

Between 1982 and 1991, 76 of 322 (24%) patients with primary endometrial adenocarcinoma and morphologic risk factors underwent surgery including systematic pelvic lymphadenectomy (LA). A mean number of 37 lymph nodes per patient was removed. The number of removed nodes did not differ with respect to mode of LA, FIGO stage, depth of myometrial invasion, and histologic subtype or grade. Twenty-seven of 76 (36%) patients had lymph node metastases; 37% of lymph node metastases were < or = 2 mm in diameter. The incidence of lymph node metastases correlated significantly with the depth of myometrial invasion but not with histologic subtype and grade. Twenty-four patients with positive nodes who had stage I disease according to the clinical classification (FIGO 1971) were upstaged to stage IIIc according to the surgical staging system (FIGO 1988). This study underlines the need for complete, systematic LA and the need for thorough histologic processing with step-serial sections for correct staging of patients with endometrial cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Ethical considerations of goal setting for patient care in rehabilitation medicine.

This article examines the process of setting goals for patient treatment in rehabilitation. It explores ethical considerations and moral conflict inherent to the formulation of patient goals, and it provides a framework to help resolve such conflicts. Goal setting is also considered within the larger context of justice in the use of medical resources.

Beneficence↗
PubMed1993

[Magnesium content of serum in pregnancy-induced hypertension].

Magnesium concentrations were measured in the serum of 159 pregnant women, 19 patients with severe, 64 with mild gestational hypertension and 76 with a normal pregnancy. Our data do not support the conclusion that magnesium deficiency is the primary cause of gestational hypertension.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1993

In vivo comparison of zidovudine resistance mutations in blood and CSF of HIV-1-infected patients.

Several mutations are associated with resistance to zidovudine (3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine, AZT) in cultured human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates. Little is known as to what extent drug resistance occurs in vivo and whether its development within the CNS differs from that in peripheral blood. We therefore performed comparative nucleotide sequence analysis of the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) gene in proviral DNA obtained from blood and CSF of three patients, all of whom had progressed to AIDS under long-term zidovudine treatment. Six to 11 individual proviral copies per patient and compartment were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-mediated direct sequencing. In all samples, mutations associated with zidovudine resistance could be identified. They occurred in multiple HIV-1 copies in both blood and CSF, indicating that molecular determinants of resistance are reflected in most individual proviruses in vivo. Comparable positions and frequencies of mutations in isolates derived from both compartments do not argue for independent development of zidovudine resistance in CSF.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1993

Knowledge discovery in GenBank.

We describe various methods designed to discover knowledge in the GenBank nucleic acid sequence database. Using a grammatical model of gene structure, we create a parse tree of a gene using features listed in the FEATURE TABLE. The parse tree infers features that are not explicitly listed, but which follow from the listed features. This method discovers 30% more introns and 40% more exons when applied to a globin gene subset of GenBank. Parse tree construction also entails resolving ambiguity and inconsistency within a FEATURE TABLE. We transform the parse tree into an augmented FEATURE TABLE that represents inferred gene structure explicitly and unambiguously, thereby greatly improving the utility of the FEATURE TABLE to researchers. We then describe various analogical reasoning techniques designed to exploit the homologous nature of genes. We build a classification hierarchy that reflects the evolutionary relationship between genes. Descriptive grammars of gene classes are then induced from the instance grammars of genes. Case based reasoning techniques use these abstract gene class descriptions to predict the presence and location of regulatory features not listed in the FEATURE TABLE. A cross-validation test shows a success rate of 87% on a globin gene subset of GenBank.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1993

Treatment of multiple sclerosis with 15 +/- deoxyspergualin. Design of a controlled study with close MRI-monitoring.

The rationale and design of a prospective randomized double blind study of 15 +/- Deoxyspergualin in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis are presented. The study was started in autumn 1992 and will include more than 200 patients who will be randomized either to DSG low dose or DSG high dose or placebo. Average number of contrast enhancing lesions in monthly cranial MRIs during the first six months of treatment and change in EDSS at the end of the two-year study period will be the main efficacy parameters.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

[Intervals for increasing the dosage of oxytocin].

We retrospectively analyzed 468 deliveries in 1989, 935 deliveries in 1990, and 1020 deliveries in 1991 from cephalic presentation. Oxytocin was given for reason of not sufficient labor (cervical dilatation < 1 cm/hr) after spontaneous or artificial rupture of membranes. Oxytocin was increased at intervals of 20 minutes (in 1989) or 60 minutes (in 1990 and 1991). The percentage of deliveries augmented with oxytocin, the cesarean section rate in deliveries with or without oxytocin, the maximum oxytocin dose, and the condition of the neonates (arterial cord blood pH value, Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes) were compared. Prolonging the interval of increasing oxytocin did not adversely influence the condition of the neonates and was not associated with a significant change in the cesarean section rate. The average duration of oxytocin administration was prolonged slightly, but the maximum dose and therefore the average total dose administered were decreased.

Apgar Score↗
PubMed1993

Diagnosis of cytomegalovirus infections of the nervous system by immunocytochemical demonstration of infected cells in cerebrospinal fluid.

OBJECTIVES: Infections caused by the cytomegalovirus (CMV) are frequent complications in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Diagnosis of CMV infections of the nervous system is still difficult. METHODS: We evaluated immunocytochemical staining for a CMV early antigen in cells prepared from the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with clinical evidence for neural CMV infections and from controls. RESULTS: CMV positive cells were found in four samples of patients with clinical evidence of CMV infection. Three of these patients were suffering from myeloradicalitis, one had a severe brain stem encephalitis. No CMV positive were found in controls. CONCLUSIONS: Immunocytochemical staining of CSF cells may be helpful in the diagnosis of CMV infection of the central nervous system and of the nerve roots.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗