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Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

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At least 991 records · Page 55Linked to original sources

PubMed1988

[Genetic engineering and trends in the research on new vaccines].

The elaboration of vaccines, initially purely empirical, can now be made on a more rational basis thanks to our progresses in understanding the immune system and to our ability in expressing or mimicking immunogenic but innocuous parts of pathogens. We describe some of the factors contributing to the impressive acceleration in the research for new vaccines including the impact of genetic engineering. This impact is important both for the search of relevant immunogens and for their presentation to the host. We develop, in particular, the example of oral vaccines with live bacteria.

Antigens↗

PubMed2002

Taking STOX: developing a cross disciplinary methodology for systematic reviews of research on the built environment and the health of the public.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To develop a cross disciplinary literature search methodology for conducting systematic reviews of all types of research investigating aspects of the built environment and the health of the public. DESIGN: The method was developed following a comprehensive search of literature in the area of housing and injuries, using 30 databases covering many disciplines including medicine, social science, architecture, science, engineering, environment, planning and psychology. The results of the database searches, including the type (or evidence) of research papers identified, were analysed to identify the most productive databases and improve the efficiency of the strategy. The revised strategy for literature searching was then applied to the area of neighbourhoods and mental health, and an analysis of the evidence type of references was carried out. In recognition of the large number and variety of observational studies, an expanded evidence type classification was developed for this purpose. MAIN RESULTS: From an analysis of 722 citations obtained by a housing and injuries search, an overlap of only 9% was found between medical and social science databases and only 1% between medical and built environment databases. A preliminary evidence type classification of those citations that could be assessed (from information in the abstracts and titles) suggested that the majority of intervention studies on housing and injuries are likely to be found in the medical and social science databases. A number of relevant observational studies (10% of all research studies) would have been missed, however, by excluding built environment and grey literature databases. In an area lacking in interventional research (housing/neighbourhoods and mental health) as many as 25% of all research studies would have been missed by ignoring the built environment and grey literature. CONCLUSIONS: When planning a systematic review of all types of evidence in a topic relating to the built environment and the health of the public, a range of bibliographical databases from various disciplines should be considered.

Databases, Bibliographic↗

PubMed2006

Evidence-based re-engineering: re-engineering the evidence--a systematic review of the literature on business process redesign (BPR) in hospital care.

PURPOSE: Business process redesign (BPR) is used to implement organizational transformations towards more customer-focused and cost-effective care. Ideally, these innovations should be carefully described and evaluated so that "best practices" can be re-applied. To investigate this, available evidence was collected on patient care redesign projects. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The Ebsco Business Source Premier, Embase and Medline databases were searched. Studies on innovations related to re-engineering patient care that used before-after design as minimum prerequisites were selected. General characteristics, logistic parameters and other outcome measures to determine the objectives and results and interventions used were looked at. FINDINGS: A total of 86 studies that conformed to the criteria were found: a minority mentioned measurable parameters in their objectives. In the majority of studies, multiple interventions were combined within single studies, making it impossible to compare the effects of individual interventions. Only three randomized controlled trials were found. Furthermore, inconsistencies were noted between the study objectives and the reported results. Many more issues were reported in the results than were mentioned in the study aims. It would appear that publications were hard to find owing to a lack of specific MeSH headings. Nearly 7,500 abstracts were scanned and from these it was concluded that clear and univocal research methods, terms and reporting guidelines are advisable and must be developed in order to learn and benefit from BPR innovations in health care organizations. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This appears to be the first time available evidence about redesign projects in hospitals has been systematically collected and assessed.

Evidence-Based Medicine↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Fourth International Workshop on Haploidentical Transplants, Naples, Italy, July 8-10, 2004.

Many patients with high-risk hematological malignancies or with incurable inborn errors do not have an HLA-matched sibling and cannot find an HLA-matched donor for an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT). Transplantation strategies using mismatched haploidentical family donors have been an important development. Although the procedure has saved patients from certain death, it is still beset by major problems like life-threatening infections--due to profound immunodeficiency following T-cell depletion and to disease relapse. At every International Workshop on Haploidentical Transplants, new data are presented, showing how scientists are attempting to improve the outcomes of mismatched transplants while reducing the severity of complications.The fourth Workshop continues in this tradition of presenting ground-breaking research. It opened with presentations of the current results with unrelated volunteer and umbilical cord blood transplants and proceeded to a session with the results of haploidentical transplants in the world with series of patients with high-risk acute leukemia, ranging in number from well over 100 in Perugia, Italy, and 80 in Haifa, Israel, to smaller groups in Europe and the United States. The session on graft engineering presented the latest results in the search for the optimal graft. The graft-vs.-leukemia effect in the haploidentical transplant was discussed in depth. Subsequently, attention focussed on one of the major problems in haploidentical transplant, that is, the delay in immunological recovery. The Workshop closed with presentations on tolerance induction that was followed by the results of ongoing registration studies being performed by the Italian GIMEMA group and the European Bone Marrow Transplant group.

Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation↗

PubMed2005

The endophytic fungus Trametes hirsuta as a novel alternative source of podophyllotoxin and related aryl tetralin lignans.

The aryl tetralin lignans are synthesized by Podophyllum sps. and are in great demand worldwide due to their use in synthesis of topoisomerase inhibitors. However, the sustained production of these aryl tetralin lignans requires large-scale harvesting from the natural environments, which has resulted in the plant-endangered status. In view of the difficulties in their total chemical synthesis, cultivation and failure of metabolic engineering approaches, there is a need to search for alternative sources of production of aryl tetralin lignans. We unequivocally established the methodology for isolation, identification, and characterization of a novel fungal endophyte (Trametes hirsuta) that produces aryl tetralin lignans consistently as shown by HPLC, LC-MS, LC/MS-MS and (1)H NMR. The lignans produced by the microorganism are biologically active, and exhibit potent antioxidant, anticancer and radioprotective properties. This strategy promises to improve the production of these therapeutically important compounds at lower costs.

Cell Fractionation↗

PubMed2005

Recruitment in pediatric clinical trials: an ethical perspective.

PURPOSE: There is a paucity of clinical trials in pediatric surgical disciplines. This is partly due to difficulties in recruiting participants. Frequently the origin of these problems lies in the ethical issues surrounding clinical trials in children. We reviewed the ethical barriers to recruitment in pediatric clinical trials and present recommendations to increase recruitment without violating accepted ethical boundaries. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A literature search using the MEDLINE, EMBASE and Google engines was performed. All available North American guidelines were reviewed. Guidelines at a major North American center were also reviewed as an example of institutional directives. RESULTS: Seven categories of ethical issues hampering recruitment were identified. The perspectives of different investigators are discussed as well as their recommended practical approaches to resolve the issues. CONCLUSIONS: Several recommendations are presented to help investigators enhance approval and recruitment rates in clinical trials involving children.

Child↗

PubMed2004

Combinatorial libraries of biocatalysts: application and screening.

Enzymes can perform intricate regioselective and/or enantioselective chemical transformations and can accelerate reaction rates by enormous factors all under mild conditions. However, enzymes almost always present problems for use on an industrial scale. Evolutionary design approaches can be applied to the generation of stable enzymes with improved or novel catalytic activities. Directed evolution can be considered as the biotechnological equivalent of combinatorial chemistry, where the expressed proteins are the combinatorial libraries of biocatalysts. This review will focus on the search of novel biocatalysts produced by genetic engineering with modified activity and stability in different environments, substrate specificity and enantioselectivity. Methods of screening and/or selection for the desired properties will also be described. Finally, the efforts in de novo enzyme design are mentioned.

Catalysis↗

PubMed2006

[Insulin analogues: searching for a physiological replacement].

Insulin analogues, developed by molecular engineering, have structural changes in the A and B insulin chains. These modifications change their action profile, rendering insulin replacement closer to physiology. Rapid acting analogues like lispro, aspart and glulisine, are absorbed rapidly from the subcutaneous tissue to the circulation. In addition, two long acting insulin analogues have been developed: glargine and detemir. The combination of a long acting insulin, to maintain baseline levels, and multiple daily doses of a rapid acting analogue are the mainstay of basal-bolus therapy. Multiples studies have compared human insulin (NPH and regular) with insulin analogues in patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes mellitus, showing an improvement in the metabolic control, fewer hypoglycemic events and better quality of life. In summary, insulin analogues offer new therapeutic options and allow an individualized intensive treatment.

Diabetes Mellitus↗

PubMed2002

Assessing the learning curve effect in health technologies. Lessons from the nonclinical literature.

INTRODUCTION: Many health technologies exhibit some from of learning effect, and this represents a barrier to rigorous assessment. It has been shown that the statistical methods used are relatively crude. Methods to describe learning curves in fields outside medicine, for example, psychology and engineering, may be better. METHODS: To systematically search non-health technology assessment literature (for example, PsycLit and Econlit databases) to identify novel statistical techniques applied to learning curves. RESULTS: The search retrieved 9,431 abstracts for assessment, of which 18 used a statistical technique for analyzing learning effects that had not previously been identified in the clinical literature. The newly identified methods were combined with those previously used in health technology assessment, and categorized into four groups of increasing complexity: a) exploratory data analysis; b) simple data analysis; c) complex data analysis; and d) generic methods. All the complex structured data techniques for analyzing learning effects were identified in the nonclinical literature, and these emphasized the importance of estimating intra- and interindividual learning effects. CONCLUSION: A good dividend of more sophisticated methods was obtained by searching in nonclinical fields. These methods now require formal testing on health technology data sets.

Biomedical Technology↗

PubMed2003

[The growth characteristics of mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells in human umbilical cord blood].

This study was done for investigating the frequency and proliferative feature of mesenchymal stem/progenitor cells (MSPC) in human umbilical cord blood (CB) and for searching a new seed cell for tissue engineering. Mononuclear cells was separated by Ficoll-Hypaque from cord blood and suspended in DMEM culture medium supplemented by 2% fetal bovine serum. The adherent CB cells were cultured and expanded at same medium. The results showed that the frequency of CB-MSPC was 0.5 x 10(-6) [(0.2 - 0.8) x 10(-6)]. The CB-MSPC showed a fibroblast-like morphology and retained their morphological feature at least after 20 sub-passages, and could extensively be expanded by about 1.3 x 10(7) times as much. The conclusion is that low serum DMEM culture could maintain the proliferation and differentiation potential of CB-MSPC. CB-MSPC might be a favorable seed cell for tissue engineering and regeneration.

Cell Adhesion↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Russian treadmill BD-1 as a backup of the NASA TVIS].

Already during the early ISS increments malfunctioning of NASA TVIS (treadmill with vibration isolation system) posed major problems for regular crew training and particularly scamper, one of the key exercises on the Russian physical training program. During ISS increment-3, TVIS unscheduled repairs took virtually all the training time. In search for TVIS backup, Russian and NASA engineers considered jointly Russian treadmill BD-1, originally designed for Russian "shuttle" Buran and accepted it as a suitable backup in case of complete TVIS failure. To enter into the "dialogue" with BD-1, i.e., to record and downlink training data, the treadmill speed indicator, a part of the treadmill stand, was replaced by PC.

Equipment Design↗

PubMed1994

A novel search method for protein sequence--structure relations using property profiles.

In protein engineering and design it is very important that residues can be inspected in their specific environment. A standard relational database system cannot serve this purpose adequately because it cannot handle relations between individual residues. With SCAN3D we introduce a new database system for integrated sequence and structure analysis of proteins. It uses the relational paradigm wherever possible. Its main power, however, stems from the ability to retrieve stretches of consecutive residues with certain properties by comparing a property profile with all stretches of residues in the database, exploiting the ordered character of proteins. In doing so, it bypasses the large number of join operations that would be required by relational database systems. An additional advantage of using property profile matching is that searches can be carried out allowing a pre-set number of mismatches. Also, as the database is read-only, SCAN3D does not need interactive data update mechanisms. Queries typical of a molecular engineering environment are demonstrated with specific examples: analysis of peptides that induce local structure, analysis of site-dependent rotamers and residue--residue contact analysis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Career tools: resume writing and the job interview.

A resume is one of the fundamental tools for career advancement, and it is successful when it results in a job interview. This article discusses job search preparation, the most effective resume styles, and how to use the job interview to convince an employer that you should be hired. Effective communication skills are stressed throughout the job search process.

Biomedical Engineering↗

PubMed2005

Soluble phosphate glass fibres for repair of bone-ligament interface.

Phosphate-based fibres of the generic composition (CaO)0.46-(Na2O)n-(Fe2O3)y-(P2O5)0.50 have been evaluated, in vitro, as three dimensional scaffolds for tissue engineering of the hard-soft tissue interface by assessing the fibre solubility and growth and functional gene expression of human cells. Primary human osteoblasts and fibroblasts were seeded onto scaffolds and maintained in culture for up to 21 days. Fluorescent immunolabeling revealed the spread cell morphology and significant proliferation pattern on these fibres, particularly on the 3 mol% Fe2O3-containing formulation. Real-time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (rtQ-PCR) analysis of gene expression using TaqMan Probes was preformed and it has been established that committed cell differentiation was maintained by both cell types, and was strongly related to the 3 mol% Fe2O3 glass composition. These novel, readily manufactured, soluble glass fibres offer a biocompatible and biochemically favourable alternative in the search for suitable degradable materials used in Tissue Engineering.

Bone and Bones↗

PubMed2006

Characterization of lycopene-overproducing E. coli strains in high cell density fermentations.

Previous work identified two recombinant strains of Escherichia coli capable of significant lycopene overproduction. These strains were constructed by superimposing the deletion of three genes, selected through combinatorial and systematic searches of the metabolic landscape, onto a previously engineered strain over-expressing critical genes in the lycopene biosynthesis pathway. In this paper, we characterize the performance of these two strains in comparison to the parental, pre-engineered strain. Specifically, high cell density fermentations were performed after identifying optimized putative operating parameters. High oxygen levels and increased pH values were found to be critical for increasing both specific and volumetric product titers. Carbon balances suggest linkages between glutamate, NADPH, formate, and alanine levels with lycopene overproduction. Furthermore, lycopene production reached nearly 220 mg/l from approximately 27 g dry cell weight/l in these reactors, which is the highest value reported to date for E. coli.

Carbon↗

PubMed2006

A high-throughput approach for associating MicroRNAs with their activity conditions.

Plant microRNAs (miRNAs) are short RNA sequences that bind to target mRNAs and change their expression levels by redirecting their stabilities and marking them for cleavage. In Arabidopsis thaliana, microRNAs have been shown to regulate development and are believed to impact expression both under various conditions, such as stress and stimuli, as well as in specific tissue types. We present a high throughput approach for associating between microRNAs and conditions in which they act, using novel statistical and algorithmic techniques. Our new tool, miRNAXpress, at first computes a (binary) matrix T denoting the potential targets of microRNAs. Then, using T and an additional predefined matrix X indicating expression of genes under various conditions, it produces a new matrix that predicts associations between microRNAs and the conditions in which they act. Thus, the program comprises two main modules that work in tandem to compute the desired output. The first is an efficient target prediction engine that predicts mRNA targets of query microRNAs by evaluating the optimal duplex that could be formed between the two: given a short query RNA, a long target RNA, and a predefined energy cut-off threshold, the program finds and reports all putative binding sites of the query RNA in the target RNA with hybridization energy bounded by the predefined threshold. The second module realizes an association operation that is computed by a method which relies on an efficient t-test to compute the associations. The calculation of the matrix of microRNAs and their potential targets is the computationally intensive part of the work done by miRNAXpress, and therefore an efficient algorithm for this portion facilitates the entire process. Thus, the target prediction engine is based on an efficient approximate hybridization search algorithm whose efficiency is the result of utilizing the sparsity of the search space without sacrificing the optimality of the results. The time complexity of this algorithm is almost linear in the size of a sparse set of locations where base-pairs are stacked at a height of three or more. Thus miRNAXpress is a novel tool for associating between microRNAs and the conditions in which they act. We employed it to conduct a study, using the plant Arabidopsis thaliana as our model organism. By applying miRNAXpress to 98 microRNAs and 380 conditions, some biologically interesting and statistically strong relations were discovered. For example, mir159C activity is possibly a factor in the misresponse of nph4 mutants to phototropic stimulations.

Arabidopsis↗

PubMed2003

Magnetic resonance realization of decoherence-free quantum computation.

We report the realization, using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques, of the first quantum computer that reliably executes a complete algorithm in the presence of strong decoherence. The computer is based on a quantum error avoidance code that protects against a class of multiple-qubit errors. The code stores two decoherence-free logical qubits in four noisy physical qubits. The computer successfully executes Grover's search algorithm in the presence of arbitrarily strong engineered decoherence. A control computer with no decoherence protection consistently fails under the same conditions.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

A controlled genetic programming approach for the deceptive domain.

Traditional genetic programming (GP) randomly combines subtrees by applying crossover. There is a growing interest in methods that can control such recombination operations in order to achieve faster convergence. In this paper, a new approach is presented for guiding the recombination process for genetic programming. The method is based on extracting the global information of the promising solutions that appear during the genetic search. The aim is to use this information to control the crossover operation afterwards. A separate control module is used to process the collected information. This module guides the search process by sending feedback to the genetic engine about the consequences of possible recombination alternatives.

Algorithms↗