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Biomedical subjects

S Stack

Publications and source records attributed to S Stack.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Estimating farmworker population size in New York State using a minimum labor demand method.

Assessment of health needs and services for hand-harvest farmworkers requires reliable population estimates. In New York State, the only publicly available source for these is the Department of Labor (DOL). However, published production data exist that may enable estimation of minimum labor demand (MLD) for hand-harvest labor. Our objective was to develop an estimation process for minimum labor demand (MLD) for hand-harvested crops in NYS and contrast the results with DOL estimates. Four crop strata (below ground, ground, bush/vine, and orchard) were identified. MLD (measured in worker-seasons) was estimated by dividing the total annual harvest hours required for each crop stratum by the total hours worked by one worker in a season for that crop stratum. The MLD estimate of the total number of worker seasons combined for all strata (14,121) was higher than that of the DOL (8,230). Harvest acreage was unavailable for 21% of the 991 county-crop combinations studied; therefore, data were imputed from other sources. Within these strata, the greatest difference was found for ground crops, where the DOL count was 28% of the size of the MLD estimate. DOL and MLD estimates were closest in orchard crops (DOL 109% of MLD). Publicly available data provide a potentially valuable source of informationfor estimation of the MLD. Use of these methods implies that the DOL may substantially underestimate the size of this population. Differences seen between the two methods were sensitive to the crop type. County-level farm surveys to verify MLD estimation factors would enhance the method's accuracy.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2003

Media coverage as a risk factor in suicide.

A total of 293 findings from 42 studies on the impact of publicized suicide stories in the media on the incidence of suicide in the real world were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Studies measuring the effect of either an entertainment or political celebrity suicide story were 14.3 times more likely to find a copycat effect than studies that did not. Studies based on a real as opposed to fictional story were 4.03 times more likely to uncover a copycat effect. Research based on televised stories was 82% less likely to report a copycat effect than research based on newspapers. A review of recent events in Austria and Switzerland indicates that suicide prevention organizations can successfully convince the media to change the frequency and content of their suicide coverage in an effort to reduce copycat effects.

Guidelines as Topic↗
PubMed2002

Pseudoexfoliation and sensorineural hearing loss.

AIMS: There is increasing evidence that pseudoexfoliation (PXF) not only affects ocular anterior segment structures, but may also be a systemic disease. This study was undertaken to assess the relationship between PXF and sensorineural hearing loss. METHODS: Patients with PXF were identified from hospital records and underwent complete ocular examination. The sum of pure-tone hearing thresholds measured at 1, 2 and 3 kHz (HTL1,2,3) in each ear was compared with the ISO 7029 standard sex-matched, median age-associated hearing loss summed over the same frequencies (AAHL1,2,3). The proportion of ears with thresholds higher than the ISO 7029 median AAHL1,2,3 on the same side as eyes without PXF was compared with the proportion of ears ipsilateral to eyes with PXF but without glaucoma and similarly the proportion of ears on the same side as eyes with PXF and glaucoma. RESULTS: In total, 69 patients were studied, of whom 39 were male (56.5%). The mean age of the male patients was 75.8 years, while that of the female group was 75.1 years. All patients had PXF affecting at least one eye. Overall 101 ears (73.7%) had a higher HTL1,2,3 than the ISO 7029 median AAHL1,2,3 which included 56 ears of 78 in the male group (71.8%) and 45 ears of 59 in the female group (76.3%). There was no significant difference between the proportion of ears with HTL1,2,3 higher than the ISO 7029 median AAHL1,2,3 on the same side as eyes without PXF, with PXF but not glaucoma and with PXF and glaucoma, in either the male or female groups. CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of patients with PXF have sensorineural hearing loss in comparison to age-matched controls, regardless of whether or not there is associated glaucoma. This finding supports the theory that PXF may be a systemic condition.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Media coverage as a risk factor in suicide.

A total of 293 findings from 42 studies on the impact of publicized suicide stories in the media on the incidence of suicide in the real world were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Studies measuring the effect of either an entertainment or political celebrity suicide story were 14.3 times more likely to find a copycat effect than studies that did not. Studies based on a real as opposed to fictional story were 4.03 times more likely to uncover a copycat effect. Research based on televised stories was 82% less likely to report a copycat effect than research based on newspapers. A review of recent events in Austria and Switzerland indicates that suicide prevention organizations can successfully convince the media to change the frequency and content of their suicide coverage in an effort to reduce copycat effects.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2000

Suicide: a 15-year review of the sociological literature. Part I: cultural and economic factors.

Cultural and economic patterns from 130 sociological works on suicide from 1981 to 1995 are reviewed in this article. The traditional Durkheimian perspective on suicide was often questioned by research on the impact of the mass media, alcohol, class, modernization, religion, and politics. Major theoretical developments included the application of differential identification theory to Phillips's model of copycat suicide, the application of criminology's opportunity theory to suicide, and new explanations for the link between alcohol and the social suicide rate. Explanations are reviewed for the major new suicide trend: after half a century of convergence, male and female suicide rates are diverging. Finally, the review notes patterns of continued stability in suicide research findings in areas such as racial differences and economic strain.

Cultural Characteristics↗
PubMed2000

Suicide: a 15-year review of the sociological literature. Part II: modernization and social integration perspectives.

This article reviews the findings of 84 sociological studies published over a 15-year period. These studies deal with tests of the modernization and/or social integration perspectives on suicide. Research on modernization, religious integration, and political integration often questioned or reformulated the traditional Durkheimian perspective. A major new theoretical development, Pescosolido's religious networks perspective, gained some empirical support in the 15-year period. The strongest support for social integration theory came from research on marital integration, wherein more than three quarters of the research found a significant relationship. Finally, further research on migration, a force lowering social integration, continued to tend to find a positive link to suicide.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1998

Heavy metal, religiosity, and suicide acceptability.

There has been little work at the national level on the subject of musical subcultures and suicide acceptability. The present work explores the link between "heavy metal" rock fanship and suicide acceptability. Metal fanship is thought to elevate suicide acceptability through such means as exposure to a culture of personal and societal chaos marked by hopelessness, and through its associations with demographic risk factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, and education. Data are taken from the General Social Survey. A link between heavy metal fanship and suicide acceptability is found. However, this relationship becomes nonsignificant once level of religiosity is controlled. Metal fans are low in religiosity, which contributes, in turn, to greater suicide acceptability.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Aspartic proteinase genes in the Brassicaceae Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus.

Active aspartic proteinase is isolated from Brassica napus seeds and the peptide sequence is used to generate primers for PCR. We present here cDNA and genomic clones for aspartic proteinases from the closely related Brassicaceae Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus. The Arabidopsis cDNA represents a single gene, while Brassica has at least 4 genes. Like other plant aspartic proteases, the two Brassicaceae enzymes contain an extra protein domain of about 100 amino acids relative to the mammalian forms. The intron/exon arrangement in the Brassica genomic clone is significantly different from that in mammalian genes. As the proteinase is isolated from seeds, the same tissue where 2S albumins are processed, this implies expression of one of the aspartic proteinase genes there.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Heregulin and agonistic anti-p185(c-erbB2) antibodies inhibit proliferation but increase invasiveness of breast cancer cells that overexpress p185(c-erbB2): increased invasiveness may contribute to poor prognosis.

Overexpression of p185(c-erbB2) (p185/NEU/HER2) by tumor cells is associated with a poor prognosis in many but not all studies of breast and ovarian cancer. The poor prognosis associated with overexpression of p185(c-erbB2) could result from an increased growth rate or increased invasive potential. The p185(c-erbB2) tyrosine kinase receptor can be activated with agonistic antibodies directed against p185(c-erbB2) or with the ligand heregulin through a combinatorial interaction with erbB3 or erbB4. Consequently, we have asked whether heregulin or agonistic antibodies increase anchorage-independent growth or invasiveness of the SKBr3 breast cancer cell line, which overexpresses p185(c-erbB2). Incubation of SKBr3 breast cancer cells with heregulin inhibited anchorage-independent growth while enhancing tyrosine phosphorylation of p185(c-erbB2). Heregulin treatment also increased adhesion of SKBr3 cells to plastic and increased invasiveness of tumor cells into Matrigel membranes while increasing expression of the CD44 (HCAM) and CD54 (ICAM-1) adhesion molecules. Tumor cell invasion of Matrigel membranes was partially blocked by either anti-CD44 or anti-CD54 antibodies, indicating a role for these adhesion molecules in the invasion process. Compatible with the increased invasiveness, heregulin increased expression of the matrix metalloproteinase 9. In contrast, the agonistic anti-p185(c-erbB2) antibody ID5 induced only a subset of the responses induced by heregulin. ID5 induced tyrosine phosphorylation of p185(c-erbB2), increased invasiveness, and increased expression of CD44. Despite the similarity of effects of ID5 and heregulin on some outcomes, the ID5 antibody failed to increase adhesion to plastic, expression of CD54, or production of matrix metalloproteinase 9. Thus, the ID5 agonistic anti-p185(c-erbB2) antibody mimics rather than antagonizes some but not all of the actions of heregulin. Moreover, the poor prognosis of breast and ovarian cancers that overexpress p185(c-erbB2) could relate in part to enhanced invasiveness rather than to increased proliferative capacity.

Antibodies, Neoplasm↗
PubMed1996

The effect of the media on suicide: evidence from Japan, 1955-1985.

Research on media impacts on suicide has been largely restricted to the United States, a Christian nation marked by moral aversion to suicide. The present study extends the analysis to an Eastern nation, Japan, where people are less critical of those who suicide. Such a cultural definition of suicide might multiply imitative effects. Yule-Walker times series estimates indicate that the imitative effect is restricted to stories concerning Japanese victims. Further, the increase is similar in magnitude to that reported in the American cultural context. The Japanese audience may not be as predisposed to media effects, given a lower divorce rate, low couple centeredness, and a high level of extended family social support. These factors may offset a potentially very high "Werther effect." The model explains 88% of the variance in monthly Japanese suicide rates.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗
PubMed1996

Gender and suicide risk among artists: a multivariate analysis.

Research on mental disorders among male artists has suggested that artists are at risk of suicide. However, given that men are higher in suicide risk than women, the presumed suicide risk of artists may be an artifact of sampling bias. A logistic regression analysis of data from 21 states finds that artists have 270% higher risk of suicide than nonartists. However, after controlling for gender and sociodemographic variables, this risk level is reduced to 125%. The findings are related to both psychiatric and work-related stress factors that may place artists at risk of suicide as an occupational group.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

The effect of marital integration on African American suicide.

Research on the impact of marital integration on suicide has neglected race-specific analysis. Existing work has been marked by methodological problems and has thus found inconsistent results. The present paper is the first national study of the problem. In a logistic regression analysis of 2099 African American suicides and 1729 African American natural deaths, being divorced or widowed significantly raises the odds of death by suicide; being single does not. A parallel analysis for Whites finds greater support for a link between martial status and suicide. Marital status may be less important for African Americans in suicide prevention because extended family ties are stronger for African Americans than Whites.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Human monocyte/macrophage adhesion and cytokine production on surface-modified poly(tetrafluoroethylene/hexafluoropropylene) polymers with and without protein preadsorption.

To study surface property-dependent human monocyte adhesion and cytokine (IL-1 beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha) production, poly(tetrafluoroethylene/hexafluoropropylene) (FEP) polymer was modified to exhibit neutral, anionic, or cationic properties by incorporating amide (CONH2) and/or carboxyl (COOH) or aminoethyl amide [CONH(CH2CH2NH)nCH2CH2NH2] groups on the surface. Monocyte adhesion on surface-modified FEP polymers and cytokines released by monocytes/macrophages (MC/MO) into the culture medium were compared to control tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) at days 1 and 8. On day 1, the neutral surface FEP polymer with incorporated amide (NH2) groups showed the greatest inhibition of adhesion, 89% (P < .01), and cytokine production (IL-1 beta with 58%, IL-6 with 70%, and TNF-alpha with 39%) compared to control TCPS. In contrast, the highly cationic [CONH(CH2CH2NH)nCH2CH2NH2] surface did not show significant (P > .01) inhibition of monocyte adhesion and cytokine production. When fibrinogen or IgG was preadsorbed to the surface, the inhibitory effects of the neutral surface FEP polymer on monocyte adhesion and cytokine production were not altered. In addition, other surface-modified FEP polymers showed similar inhibition of monocyte adhesion and cytokine production compared to TCPS. Specifically, as the incorporation of carboxyl (COOH) group content increased on FEP polymer surfaces, monocyte adhesion and cytokine production were also increased on day 1 with IgG preadsorption. On day 8, all surface-modified FEP polymers showed significant (P < .01) inhibition of monocyte adhesion when fibrinogen or IgG was preadsorbed. However, without protein (fibrinogen or IgG) preadsorption, monocyte adhesion was not significantly inhibited compared to control TCPS. In addition, cytokine production detected by ELISAs on day 8 showed no detectable levels of IL-1 beta and significantly decreased levels of IL-6 compared to day 1 for all tested polymers, with or without protein preadsorption. Interestingly, the level of TNF-alpha production on day 8 remained high although not as high as on day 1. Based on these results, we suggest that FEP polymers with neutral hydrophilic surface properties may adhere and activate the least number of monocytes, which are important mediators of biocompatibility.

Adsorption↗
PubMed1995

Adhesion and cytokine production by monocytes on poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine-co-alkyl methacrylate)-coated polymers.

Human monocytes isolated from peripheral venous blood were assayed for their ability to adhere to various polymers. The culture supernatants were also assayed for the cytokines, interleukin-1 beta (IL-beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). The polymers evaluated for adherence and cytokine production included Pellethane, polyethylene and poly[n-butyl methacrylate (BMA)] coated with poly[2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)-co-alkyl methacrylate] copolymers. In some experiments the test polymers were adsorbed with fibrinogen or IgG prior to the addition of monocytes. MPC copolymer-coated materials inhibited monocyte and macrophage adhesion after 1 and 8 days of culture relative to corresponding uncoated polymers and tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS). The degree of inhibition by coated Pellethane compared to uncoated Pellethane was the greatest, while inhibition of adhesion by coated poly(BMA) was the least compared to uncoated poly(BMA). However, adhesion was significantly decreased on both coated and uncoated poly(BMA) by day 8. While IL-1 beta, IL-6, and TNF-alpha release was variably influenced by polymer coating, release was consistently inhibited relative to TCPS on day 1. However, cytokine production was not inhibited compared to corresponding uncoated polymers on day 1. With or without protein preadsorption, IL-1 beta release was not detectable in the supernatants of any polymer on day 8, IL-6 production was diminished on day 8, and TNF-alpha production was sustained on day 8. Overall, MPC copolymer-coated and uncoated poly(BMA) were the least stimulating, while TCPS was the most stimulating.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Biocompatible Materials↗
PubMed1995

Identification of a clinical isolate of HIV-1 with an isoleucine at position 82 of the protease which retains susceptibility to protease inhibitors.

The HIV-1 protease (PR) is essential for the production of mature virions. As such, it has become a target for the development of anti-HIV chemotherapeutics. Multiple passages of virus in cell culture in the presence of PR inhibitors have resulted in the selection of variants with decreased sensitivity to inhibitors of the PR. The most common alteration observed is a single amino acid change at position 82. This particular position has been well characterized by several laboratories as being important for the susceptibility of the virus to inhibitors of PR function. Mutations which result in the substitution of the wild-type valine with alanine, phenylalanine, threonine or isoleucine at position 82 of the PR have been associated with decreased sensitivity to several PR inhibitors. We describe here a clinical strain of HIV-1 that contains an isoleucine at position 82 of the PR instead of the usual valine. This strain is unique in that it was isolated from a patient that was anti-retroviral naive, and in the past, variants at position 82 of the PR have only been found after treatment of patients or cell culture with PR inhibitors. Moreover, this virus remains sensitive to PR inhibitors of the cyclic urea and C-2 symmetrical diol classes.

Amino Acid Sequence↗