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Increased Detection (increased + detection)
Selected AbstractsIncreased detection of HBV DNA in HBsAg-positive and HBsAg-negative South African HIV/AIDS patients enrolling for highly active antiretroviral therapy at a Tertiary HospitalJOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 3 2009Azwidowi Lukhwareni Abstract This retrospective study investigated the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 192 stored sera from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) positive South African patients initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART), and explored the implications of HBV,HIV co-infection on laboratory diagnosis of HBV. HBV serology (HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc) and nested HBV PCR assays targeting the HBV polymerase gene were performed, with HBV DNA positive samples being quantified with Cobas Taqman HBV test 48 assay (Roche Diagnostics). The study found that 63% (121/192) of patients had past or present HBV infection, and 40.6% (78/192) had detectable HBV DNA. Also, 22.9% (44/192) of patients were HBsAg positive and HBV DNA positive, while 23% (34/148) of HBsAG negatives had occult HBV infections. Of the 78 HBV DNA positive samples, 62.8% had viral loads ranging from 102 to ,108 IU/ml, and 37.2% had HBV viral loads <200 IU/ml. There was a statistically significant positive association between HBsAg-positivity and high viral loads, with 27% (12/44) of HBsAg positives having HBV viral loads between 104 and ,108 IU/ml, compared to only 5.9% (2/34) of HBsAg negatives (relative risk: 4.64; 95% confidence interval: 1.11, 19.35; chi-square P -value,=,0.015). The study shows that the majority of HIV/AIDS patients initiating ART have either acute or chronic HBV infections, and further confirms that HIV remains a risk factor for occult HBV infections in South African patients as previously shown. The findings strongly support HBV screening in all HIV-positive patients initiating ART in South Africa, considering that current ART regimens include drugs with anti-HBV activity (e.g., lamivudine). J. Med. Virol. 81:406,412, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Misconduct in medical research: whose responsibility?INTERNAL MEDICINE JOURNAL, Issue 4 2003K. J. Breen Abstract Examples of many types of misconduct in medical research continue to be reported. The true incidence is unknown because there is strong evidence of under-reporting as well as suggestions of increased detection. Risks to research participants may also be increasing, with contributing factors such as increased pressure on researchers to publish and to produce commercialization of their research. Institutions are perceived to typically respond slowly and inadequately to allegations of research misconduct. More could be done to try to prevent such misconduct, such as: (i) educating researchers about research ethics, (ii) assisting and protecting whistleblowers and (iii) instituting processes to adequately and promptly investigate and deal with allegations. In addition, a debate needs to take place as to whether research misconduct allegations should be dealt with at the institutional level or at a national level and whether medical boards should be routinely involved in the more serious breaches of ethical standards by medical practitioners engaged in research. (Intern Med J 2003; 33: 186,191) [source] Extended firewall for regression testing: an experience reportJOURNAL OF SOFTWARE MAINTENANCE AND EVOLUTION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE, Issue 6 2008Lee White Abstract Testing firewalls have proven to be a useful approach for regression testing in both functional and object-oriented software. They involve only the modules that are closely related to the changed modules. They lead to substantially reduced regression tests but still are very effective in detecting regression faults. This paper investigates situations when data-flow paths are longer, and the testing of modules and components only one level away from the changed elements may not detect certain regression faults; an extended firewall considers these longer data paths. We report empirical studies that show the degree to which an extended firewall detected more faults, and how much more testing was required to achieve this increased detection. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Increasing incidence of differentiated thyroid cancer in the United States, 1988,2005CANCER, Issue 16 2009Amy Y. Chen MD Abstract BACKGROUND: Studies have reported an increasing incidence of thyroid cancer since 1980. One possible explanation for this trend is increased detection through more widespread and aggressive use of ultrasound and image-guided biopsy. Increases resulting from increased detection are most likely to involve small primary tumors rather than larger tumors, which often present as palpable thyroid masses. The objective of the current study was to investigate the trends in increasing incidence of differentiated (papillary and follicular) thyroid cancer by size, age, race, and sex. METHODS: Cases of differentiated thyroid cancer (1988-2005) were analyzed using the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) dataset. Trends in incidence rates of papillary and follicular cancer, race, age, sex, primary tumor size (<1.0 cm, 1.0-2.9 cm, 3.0-3.9 cm, and >4 cm), and SEER stage (localized, regional, distant) were analyzed using joinpoint regression and reported as the annual percentage change (APC). RESULTS: Incidence rates increased for all sizes of tumors. Among men and women of all ages, the highest rate of increase was for primary tumors <1.0 cm among men (1997-2005: APC, 9.9) and women (1988-2005: APC, 8.6). Trends were similar between whites and blacks. Significant increases also were observed for tumors ,4 cm among men (1988-2005: APC, 3.7) and women (1988-2005: APC, 5.70) and for distant SEER stage disease among men (APC, 3.7) and women (APC, 2.3). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence rates of differentiated thyroid cancers of all sizes increased between 1988 and 2005 in both men and women. The increased incidence across all tumor sizes suggested that increased diagnostic scrutiny is not the sole explanation. Other explanations, including environmental influences and molecular pathways, should be investigated. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society. [source] | ||||||||||