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Biomedical subjects

J Rankin

Publications and source records attributed to J Rankin.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

A novel human Wnt gene, WNT10B, maps to 12q13 and is expressed in human breast carcinomas.

Several members of the Wnt gene family have been shown to cause mammary tumors in mouse. Using degenerate primer polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on human genomic DNA, and specific PCR of cDNA libraries, we have isolated a WNT gene which has not previously been described in human. The gene is the human homologue of mouse Wnt10b, recently shown to be one of the oncogenes cooperating with FGF3 in the development of mouse mammary tumour virus (MMTV) induced mouse mammary carcinomas. The human WNT10B sequence was 88% and 95% identical to the murine gene at nucleotide and amino acid levels, respectively. YAC FISH mapping localises the gene to 12q13, a chromosomal region frequently rearranged in human tumours and also containing the WNT1 gene. In normal and benign proliferations of human breast tissue, WNT10B expression was not detected by ribonuclease protection assays but was found at low levels in RT-PCR experiments. In contrast, using both methods, WNT10B expression was found to be elevated in 3 of 50 primary breast carcinomas. Southern blot analysis of the carcinoma expressing the highest levels of WNT10B showed no amplification or rearrangement of the gene. The WNT10B gene was also expressed in some cancer and non cancerous breast cell lines. These findings suggest that the WNT10B gene may be involved in human breast cancer, and show that there is differential expression of the WNT10B gene in benign and malignant disease.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Editors' practice and views on terminology in ethnicity and health research.

There has been a burgeoning of literature on ethnicity and health in recent years. Although quality research in this field is most welcome, concern is mounting over the confusing and often inappropriate labelling of populations under study. We have undertaken a questionnaire survey of journal editors' views on terminology in relation to health research on ethnic minority groups. We found that although most of the journals surveyed did not have a clear policy on terminology, they recognised the importance of this issue and welcomed guidance to resolve the problem of inappropriate terminology in ethnicity and health research.

Epidemiology↗
PubMed1997

The dancing plague: a public health conundrum.

The phenomenon of mass, frenzied dancing affected large populations in various parts of Europe from the thirteenth century and lasted, on and off, for three centuries. The exact aetiology of the Dancing Plague (or Dancing Mania) is still unclear. Retrospective historical review of this public health problem reveals claims for causative factors including demonic possession, epilepsy, the bite of a tarantula, ergot poisoning and social adversity. It seems unlikely that Dancing Mania resulted from a single cause but rather resulted from multiple factors combining with a predisposing cultural background and triggered by adverse social circumstances. Dancing Mania remains one of the unresolved mysteries of public health.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMed1996

The role of policy in community pharmacies' response to injection-drug use: results of a nationwide Canadian survey.

The response rate to this survey reflects the salience of the topic and the professional concern about and interest in issues presented by HIV. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has presented pharmacists with one of the greatest challenges to their professional training, ethics, and practice. It further expedites a current re-examination that is occurring among community pharmacies concerning their roles in community health practices. In response to HIV there have been dramatic and unprecedented changes in pharmacy policy and practices. Clearly, some community pharmacies have led the way and influenced policy and practices. In view of the recent introduction of many of these policies and practices, it is likely that change will continue. Survey respondents were, in general, very comfortable with an expanded role involving counseling, health promotion, and disease prevention, consistent with a broader role for community pharmacies in general that has been recently advocated. Community pharmacies serve all areas of the country, in communities large and small; many are open seven days a week, and some provide extended hours of service. Community pharmacies may provide an important complement to community outreach programs as a source of clean needles and syringes for IDUs in most communities, and as an alternative service in some communities where more elaborate programs are not feasible. Safer needle use, as part of a health-promotion approach, is divergent from conventional practice. While major changes have occurred, it appears that there has been some polarization of attitudes and response. The explanation for this is not simple, and further analysis is required to determine the full impact from several ethical perspectives that include professional, business, and public health viewpoints. We have highlighted the role that policy has in moving toward preventive and harm-reduction approaches. From a policy perspective, we have found that support from the federal government, regulatory bodies, and professional associations may be an important catalyst to pharmacists' participation in programs. Further, it does not appear to be possible to implement such policies without professional development and continuing education, and collaboration with the community. Based on data on knowledge and educational need, we believe that our study population's lowest levels of information were in such areas as the role of methadone in HIV prevention and the availability of needle-exchange programs. As with other health-promotion campaigns, additional skills training may be important. Movement forward with expanded preventive and harm-reduction strategies by pharmacies will require careful planning. It is anticipated that change in this area will be incremental in nature, and that it is necessary to introduce programs and services into community pharmacies gradually. Successful implementation will require extensive community development and collaboration with other health professionals, public health officials, police, groups who represent IDUs, and persons living with HIV/AIDS. Careful monitoring and evaluation of these programs will be necessary to enhance their effectiveness.

Canada↗
PubMed1996

Cancer in minority ethnic populations: priorities from epidemiological data.

The aim of this paper is to review the literature on the frequency of cancers to develop priorities for cancer policy, prevention, services and research for black and minority ethnic populations in Britain. Data on populations originating in the Indian sub-continent, and Caribbean and African Commonwealth were extracted from published works. Cancers were ranked (top seven) on the basis of the number of cases, actual frequency, and also on relative frequency (SMR, SRR, PMR). Cancer was found to be a common cause of death. For example, during 1979-83 the proportion of deaths resulting from neoplasms in immigrants living in England and Wales was 11% for Indian and African men aged 20-49, and 19% for Caribbeans. The corresponding proportions were higher among women. The pattern of cancer depended on the method used to assess rankings. On the basis of the number of cases the top 3 ranking cancers for adults were breast, long and neoplasms of the lymphatic system. Based on SMR's cancer of the gallbladder, liver and oral cavity ranked amongst the top 3 for adults. For children the top ranking cancers were acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, central nervous system tumours and neuroblastoma. Variations by ethnic group were more evident in the rankings of relative frequency than in rankings based on numbers of cases. In conclusion, the most common and preventable cancers among minority ethnic populations were the same as those for the general population. The different cancer pattern based on SMRs highlight additional needs and provide potential models for research into understanding the causes of these cancers. Health services policy and practice should ensure that the common and preventable cancers take priority over rare cancers and those for which there is no effective treatment or prevention. Priorities for policy, prevention, clinical care and research should be set separately, for they differ.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Learning with the community for staff development.

Staff development, or inservice education, has been a part of the nursing work environment for many decades. Recently, our public health unit in British Columbia introduced an innovative and exciting approach to staff development. This fresh approach involves community participation and health promotion, the principles of primary health care, as well as participatory research--today's vital influences on nursing and health care generally.

Community-Institutional Relations↗
PubMed1995

A comparison of the determinants of safe injecting and condom use among injecting drug users.

A sample of 582 injecting drug users were interviewed as part of an evaluation of an AIDS prevention programme for drug users. This paper examines the biographic and predispositional determinants of five HIV preventive behaviours--equipment sharing (not receiving and not giving) and and condom use (with regular partners, casual partners and sex clients). A two-stage sequential approach was adopted for a logistic regression analysis. Initially, to model each of the five preventive behaviours, biographical and drug use variables were entered. In a second set of models, behavioural predisposition factors were included. Age, drug use and prison experience correlate with variables in both models, although not consistently in the same direction. While a predisposition to reject sharing correlates with safer rejecting and condom use, the predisposition to safer sex only correlates with condom use. Needle exchange programmes that only target the individual would seem to be inadequate. To enhance targeted interventions changes in public and agency policy that create a social environment conductive to behaviour change are required.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1995

Does administration of chemotherapy before radiotherapy in breast cancer patients treated with conservative surgery negatively impact local control?

PURPOSE: To determine if a delay of irradiation to the intact breast for administration of adjuvant chemotherapy results in increased local recurrence in breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The records of 262 women with 264 cases of breast cancer were reviewed. Group I contained 105 patients treated with conservative surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Group II contained 157 patients (used as a concurrent control) treated with conservative surgery and radiotherapy only. Eighty-nine percent of subjects in group I received all chemotherapy before radiotherapy. Fifty-eight percent of patients received hormone therapy. Seventy-one percent of patients had negative surgical margins, and 74% had negative lymph nodes. For group I, conservative surgery-radiotherapy intervals in months were less than 1 (five, 5%), > or = 1 to less than 3 (10, 9%), > or = 1 to less 6 (48, 46%), and > or = 6 (42, 40%), mean of 5. For group II, the intervals were less than 1 (20, 13%), > or = 1 to less than 3 (123, 79%), > or = 3 to less than 6 (11, 7%), and > or = 6 (two, 1%), mean of 1.5. RESULTS: Thirty patients (11.5%) have disease recurrence (19 distant [6%] and 12 local [5%]). There were no significant differences in local recurrence (group I, four [4%]; group II, eight [5%]; difference not significant). There were no significant differences in local recurrence in any surgery-radiotherapy interval within each group. Although we found marginal increases in the percentage of local recurrences in group I patients (with prolonged surgery-radiotherapy intervals) who had positive margins, positive lymph nodes, and tumor size more than 2 cm versus group II (without prolonged surgery-radiotherapy intervals), these results were not significant. CONCLUSION: We could not identify any surgery-radiotherapy interval that resulted in increased local recurrence if radiotherapy was delayed for administration of adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. Because of the heterogenous population of breast cancer patients, our results also support the need for further study to determine the optimum integration of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the management of the conservatively treated breast.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Reducing volunteer bias: using left-over specimens to estimate rates of HIV infection among inmates in Ontario, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of HIV-1 infection among adult and young offenders admitted to remand facilities in the province of Ontario, Canada, by using a design that reduces volunteer bias. METHODS: A study using a modified anonymous HIV-surveillance design was conducted with urine specimens routinely collected from male and female entrants to all Ontario jails, detention and youth centres between February and August 1993. Information on sex, age, and history of injecting drug use was also collected. Urine was screened using a modified commercial HIV enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit and confirmed using a modified in-house Western blot assay. RESULTS: Data were obtained on 10,530 adult men, 1518 adult women, 1480 young male offenders, and 92 young female offenders. Urine specimens were available for 88% of new entrants. Of the entrants, 1% (n = 163) refused to have their urine used for research. Refusals were not associated with history of injecting drug use. Overall rates of HIV-1 infection were 1% for adult men, 1.2% for adult women, and 0% for young offenders. Both the rates of infection and prevalence of injecting drug use varied across facilities and geographic regions. Overall, 13% of adult men, 20% of adult women, 3% of young male offenders, and 2% of young female offenders reported a history of injecting drug use. Rates of infection were highest among self-reported injecting drug users. Rates of HIV were 3.6% for adult men and 4.2% for adult women who injected compared with 0.6 and 0.5%, respectively, for non-injecting drug users. CONCLUSIONS: The use of unlinked left-over specimens is an important tool for measuring HIV-prevalence rates and should be encouraged. The results indicate that HIV rates are much higher among those entering prisons than in the general population. The pattern of HIV in Ontario prisons is similar to that reported in Europe and the United States. We are optimistic that these data will stimulate much needed efforts towards education and health promotion, and open the door to further research in Canadian prisons.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1994

Early exposure to aluminium affects eight-arm maze performance and hippocampal nerve growth factor levels in adult mice.

Aluminium has been implicated in the etiology of several human pathologies but, to date, little attention has been given to the potential damage caused by gestational exposure to aluminium or to any long-term effect of early exposure. Aluminium sulphate (200 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally to pregnant female mice (days 10 to 13 of gestation), and male progeny was assessed in a radial eight-arm maze task at 70 days (20 daily sessions, 50 microliters water as reward). Overall, aluminium-exposed mice performed less efficiently in the radial maze than the vehicle-exposed animals. Neurobiological data showed that aluminium mice also had a higher level of nerve growth factor in the hippocampal formation when compared to controls.

Aluminum↗
PubMed1994

Induction of maternal behavior by mouse neonates: influence of dam parity and prenatal oxazepam exposure.

The aim of the present report was to investigate the influence of pup stimulus properties and female parity on mouse maternal behavior. Outbred CD-1 mouse pups, prenatally exposed to either the vehicle (VEH) or oxazepam (OX, 15 mg/kg twice/day on pregnancy days 12-16) and fostered to untreated dams at birth, were offered as a stimulus on postnatal days 4, 6, and 8 to four groups of females that differed in maternal experience: virgin, experienced virgin females, primiparae, and biparae. Maternal behavior was observed during a 15-min session each day. Virgin females were less involved in crouching behavior than primiparae. Pups, age, and prenatal oxazepam showed interactive effects on maternal care, particularly by increasing licking and nest-building activities and decreasing still-out behavior. Moreover, dams receiving younger pups showed high levels of both locomotor activity and rearing. The present findings point to the need for a better understanding of mother-pup interactions in studies aimed at characterizing drug and toxicant effects on both animal and human development.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Secretion of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) by human mononuclear phagocytes.

Concentrations of MCP-1 and NAP-1 in culture fluids of human leukocytes were measured by sandwich ELISA. PPD caused PBMC's from tuberculin-sensitive subjects to secrete MCP-1 and NAP-1. PPD did not stimulate secretion by cells from a tuberculin-negative subject. Since the amounts secreted were more than could be produced by the few PPD-sensitized lymphocytes in the culture, we postulate that other cells were stimulated to secrete these chemoattractants. This study evaluated secretory capacity of one of the cell types in the PBMC culture. Unstimulated monocytes did not secrete MCP-1 or NAP-1. In order of increasing effect, IL-2 + IFN gamma, IL-1 alpha, and LPS caused monocyte secretion of MCP-1. The rank order for NAP-1 secretion was the same. TNF alpha did not cause secretion of MCP-1, but caused about the same amount of NAP-1 secretion as IL-2 + IFN gamma. Composition of the culture medium was especially critical for LPS-induced secretion of MCP-1, which was greatly enhanced by FCS and by Iscove's DMEM compared to RPMI 1640. IL-4 inhibited LPS-induced secretion of both MCP-1 and NAP-1. Secretory patterns were also a function of mononuclear phagocyte phenotype. LPS-induced secretion of MCP-1 was much greater for monocytes cultured several days in CSF-1 than for freshly isolated monocytes. LPS stimulation of bronchoalveolar macrophages caused NAP-1 secretion, but no secretion of MCP-1 above a relatively low baseline level.

Chemokine CCL2↗
PubMed1993

Alterations to the pattern of ultrasonic calling after prenatal exposure to aluminium sulfate.

Pregnant CBA mice were exposed to aluminium sulfate at a dose of 200 mg/kg body wt injected intraperitoneally during Days 10 to 13 of gestation. We used a variety of ethological measures, which have been shown to be sensitive indicators of toxicants, to assess effects on the mother and the behavioral development of pups. Prenatal aluminium resulted in a reduction in the rate of ultrasonic calling by pups accompanied by a shift in the timing of peak calling; treated pups exhibited decreased growth and delays in neurobehavioral development. The treatment received by a pup's foster mother was also found to influence development. We recommend ultrasonic calling as a sensitive measure in studies of behavioral teratogenicity.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗