BACKGROUND The global war on terrorism has prompted an increase in the deployment of security personnel from multi-national forces on foreign lands, especially in places where known terrorist groups are based. The aim of this study was to obtain U.S. military and security personnel's perceptions of the possibility of encountering a human-borne with bioagent (HBBA) terrorist at an entry control ...

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is widely prevalent in asthmatic patients. Eosinophilic airway inflammation is considered to be a major factor in the pathogenesis of asthma. However, the effects of eosinophilic airway inflammation on EIB have been elucidated insufficiently. To examine the relationship between the severity of EIB and eosinophilic inflammation, sputum induction and exe...

PURPOSE Currently, 37 states allow some type of alternative practice settings for dental hygienists. This qualitative study was designed to explore the experiences of the Extended Care Permit (ECP) dental hygienist in the state of Kansas. As a first ever study of this workforce model, a qualitative research design was chosen to illuminate the education and experiences of extended dental hygiene...

Eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) in sputum may be used to estimate the severity of bronchial inflammation and obstruction in asthmatics as well as to monitor asthma drug therapy. For this purpose, standardized processing of sputum is important. The aim of our study was to determine whether time and temperature influence the ECP concentration in the sputum of asthmatics. The samples of induced ...

thelial system. The different environmental conditions, required by both treatment regimens to activate p53 and CD95, may indicate that lymphocyte apoptosis induced by these mechanisms involves a different phase. With regard to UVA-induced apoptosis, these 2 phases have previously been termed immediateand delayed-type apoptosis.8 The beneficial, clinical effects of ECP are thought not only to b...

BACKGROUND Effusive constrictive pericarditis (ECP) is visceral constriction in conjunction with compressive pericardial effusion. The prevalence of proven tuberculous ECP is unknown. Whilst ECP is distinguished from effusive disease on hemodynamic grounds, it is unknown whether effusive-constrictive physiology has a distinct cytokine profile. We conducted a prospective study of prevalence and ...

Extracorporeal exposure of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to the photosensitizing compound 8-methoxypsoralen and ultraviolet A radiation has been shown to be effective in the treatment of several T-cell-mediated diseases, including cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and rejection after organ transplantation. We present 21 patients (10 men and 11 women) with hematological malignancies with a median a...

Bacteria have evolved a variety of mechanisms for developing community-based biofilms. These bacterial aggregates are of clinical importance, as they are a major source of recurrent disease. Bacterial surface fibers (pili) permit adherence to biotic and abiotic substrates, often in a highly specific manner. The Escherichia coli common pilus (ECP) represents a remarkable family of extracellular ...

In 15 patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis and 10 healthy control subjects, levels of major basic protein (MBP), eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), and arylsulfatase B (As) in the nasal secretions were examined before and after challenge with Japanese cedar pollen extract. The MBP and ECP levels in the patients were significantly higher 30 min after challenge than those before challenge (P <...

Late immune dysregulation following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is known as chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which is a major cause of mortality and morbidity after HCT, and a rise in its incidence is predicted. Better therapies are being sought to manage chronic GVHD and limit patients' exposure to corticosteroids. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), an immune-...