Risk, efficacy, and seeking of general, breast, and prostate cancer information

The authors investigated the independent and interactive effects of perceived risk and perceived efficacy on seeking of general, breast, and prostate cancer information. Analysis of the 2003 Health Information National Trend Survey indicates that perceived absolute risk and perceived response efficacy have generally independent-rather than interactive-effects on cancer information seeking. The influence of perceived absolute risk on prostate cancer information seeking appears to be moderated by perceived relative risk. When perceived relative risk is low, perceived absolute risk has no effect on prostate cancer information seeking; when perceived relative risk is high, perceived absolute risk exerts a significant positive influence on prostate cancer information seeking. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications.     

Bioaccumulation,metabolism, and effects of DDT,fenitrothion, and chlorpyrifos onSaccharomyces cerevisiae

Saccharomyces cerevisiae accumulated DDT, fenitrothion, and chlorpyrifos rapidly from yeast glucose medium. The maximum concentrations of DDT, fenitrothion, and chlorpyrifos accumulated were 8,253, 18,960 and 11,579 g/g (dry wt), respectively. The pattern of accumulation was similar for all insecticides. The bioconcentration factor was inversely proportional to insecticide solubilities.Saccharomyces metabolized the three insecticides, but only two metabolites of DDT (DDD and DDE) were identified. Protoplast cultures were more sensitive to DDT and fenitrothion compared to normal cultures but were less sensitive to chlorpyrifos. Both the normal and protoplast cultures recovered from the toxic effect after 24 hr.     

Risk,Efficacy, and Seeking of General,Breast, and Prostate Cancer Information

The authors investigated the independent and interactive effects of perceived risk and perceived efficacy on seeking of general, breast, and prostate cancer information. Analysis of the 2003 Health Information National Trend Survey indicates that perceived absolute risk and perceived response efficacy have generally independent—rather than interactive—effects on cancer information seeking. The influence of perceived absolute risk on prostate cancer information seeking appears to be moderated by perceived relative risk. When perceived relative risk is low, perceived absolute risk has no effect on prostate cancer information seeking; when perceived relative risk is high, perceived absolute risk exerts a significant positive influence on prostate cancer information seeking. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications.     

The effect of lead and cadmium on liver,kidney, and brain levels of cadmium,copper, lead,manganese, and zinc,and on erythrocyte ALA-D activity in mice

Summary Lead and cadmium were administered intraperitoneally, singly and jointly, to the mice. The levels of cadmium, copper, manganese, lead and zinc were determined in liver, kidney and brain by atomic absorption spectrophotometric technique and deltaaminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA-D) activity was determined in erythrocytes. The tissue levels of some of these metals were found significantly altered by cadmium and lead both, but cadmium was found to have no effect on blood on ALA-D activity.     

Toxicity of mercury,copper, nickel,lead, and cobalt to embryos and larvae of zebrafish,Brachydanio rerio

The toxicity of mercury (HgCl₂), copper (CuCl₂: 5 H₂O), nickel (NiSO₄: 6 H₂O), lead (Pb(CH₃COO)₂: 3 H₂O) and cobalt (CoCl₂: 6 H₂O) was studied under standardized conditions in embryos and larvae of the zebrafish,Brachydanio rerio. Exposures were started at the blastula stage (2–4 h after spawning) and the effects on hatching and survival were monitored daily for 16 days. Copper and nickel were more specific inhibitors of hatching than cobalt, lead, and mercury. Nominal no effect concentrations determined from the dose-response relationships (ZEPs, Zero Equivalent Points) for effect on hatching time were 0.05 g Cu/L, 10 g Hg/L, 20 g Pb/L, 40 g Ni/L and 3,840 g Co/L, and those for effect on survival time were 0.25 g Cu/L, 1.2 g Hg/L, 30 g Pb/L, 80 g Ni/L, and 60 g Co/L. The no effect concentrations for Ni, Hg and Pb are consistent with previously reported MATC values for sensitive species of fish. The no effect concentrations for copper are 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than previously reported values. The major reason for the latter discrepancy was considered to be the absence of organics that can complex copper ions in the reconstituted water that we used, which had a hardness of 100 mg/L (as CaCO₃) and a pH of 7.5–7.7. Unexposed controls were started with embryos from different parental zebrafishes and the parental-caused variability in early embryo mortality, median hatching time and median survival time were estimated.     

Medicosocial, demographic, and hygienic characteristics of the health status of adolescents, preconscripts, and conscripts

Demographic analysis indicated the preponderance of adolescents and young men from workers' families. Analyzing the distribution of young men by follow-up groups showed that the largest number of young men in the workers' families belong to Group 2 (61.3%), those in the employees' families to Group 3 (46.7%). Analyzing the follow-up groups by the level of education revealed as follows: the higher level of education is, the more attention the young men pay to their health. The lowest medical education was noted in follow-up Group 3. Most adolescents belong to the basic group of physical fitness (88.3%), 6.7% in the preparatory group; 3.7%; in the special one. 1.3% need therapeutic exercises. At the same time, assessing exercise tolerance (88.3%) indicated an excellent physical development only in 9%, good, satisfactory, and bad physical development in 53.6, 32.4, and 5.1%, respectively.     

Monitoring of Nutrients, Pesticides, and Metals in Waters, Sediments, and Fish of a Wetland

Wetland areas are of extraordinary importance for the conservation of wildlife. The Aiguamolls de l’Empordà Natural Park, located in Girona (northeast Spain), is one of the few areas in Europe acting as a way station for migratory birds. The natural park is made up of a brackish water reserve and a fresh water reserve. Agriculture and tourism, which are concentrated especially around coastal population centers, are the main activities in this area and result in the release into the environment of nutrients, pesticides, and heavy metals. This article aims to investigate the presence of nutrients, selected pesticides (organochlorine compounds, permethrin and triazines) and metals (Cr, Cu, Cd, Ni and Pb) in water, sediments, and fish samples. In the case of water, seasonal variations in levels of contamination were also monitored. Comparison was made of the fresh and brackish water reserves and concentration factors for metals and pesticides in sediment were determined. We conclude that the most significant sources of contamination in the natural park are from the entry of pesticides and nutrients into surface waters and sediments as a result of the intensive farming activity of the surrounding areas. The pesticides with the greatest presence were found to be lindane, heptachlor epoxide, permethrin, and atrazine. Among the metals analyzed, Cu and Cr presented the highest concentrations in surface waters and sediments.     

Exposure to Cats and Dogs, and Symptoms of Asthma, Rhinoconjunctivitis, and Eczema

BACKGROUND:: Associations between exposure to cats and dogs and respiratory and allergic outcomes in children have been reported in affluent countries, but little is known about such associations in less-affluent countries. METHODS:: The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, phase 3 was carried out in children aged 6-7 years and adolescents aged 13-14 years across the world. Questions about cats and dogs in the home were included in an additional questionnaire. Using logistic regression, we investigated the association between such exposures and symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema. Adjustments were made for sex, region of the world, language, gross national income per capita, and 10 other covariates. RESULTS:: Among children (6-7 years of age), cat exposure in the first year of life was associated with current symptoms of asthma, wheeze, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema, especially in less-affluent countries. Among adolescents (13-14 years of age), we found a positive association between exposure to cats or dogs and symptom prevalence in more-affluent and less-affluent countries. The global multivariate odds ratios for children with complete covariate data were 1.17 (95% confidence interval = 1.08-1.29) for current symptoms of asthma, 1.13 (1.05-1.23) for rhinoconjunctivitis, and 1.38 (1.26-1.52) for eczema. Smaller odds ratios were found for exposure to only dogs. Exposure to only cats was associated with eczema. CONCLUSION:: Early-life exposure to cats is a risk factor for symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema in 6- to 7-year-old children, especially in less-affluent countries. Current exposure to cats and dogs combined, and only to dogs, is a risk factor for symptom reporting by 13- to 14-year-old adolescents worldwide.     

Analysis of protein amino acids,non-protein amino acids and metabolites,dietary protein,glucose, fructose,sucrose, phenolic,and flavonoid content and antioxidative properties of potato tubers,peels, and cortexes (pulps)

The composition and antioxidative activity of whole potato tubers from five Korean cultivars, three peels from one cultivar, and eight pulps (cortexes) after peeling from six different cultivars were evaluated. Whole tubers were sectioned into three parts followed by analysis of the peels and pulps of each part. The following characteristics were determined: the dimensions and water content of whole tubers; nutritional protein content consisting of protein and free amino acids by an automated Kjeldahl nitrogen assay; free non-protein amino acids, metabolites, and fructose, glucose, and sucrose content by HPLC; phenolic compounds by HPLC and LC/MS; total phenolics and flavonoids by colorimetry; and antioxidative properties by ABTS, DPPH, and FRAP assays. The results demonstrate differences and similarities in the content of nutritional and bioactive compounds and in their bioactivities from whole potatoes, peels, and pulps. The present study reports for the first time the analysis of multiple potato nutrients and bioactive components as well the antioxidative properties of whole potatoes, peels, and pulps derived from the same tubers. The described methods are expected to facilitate the analysis of commercial and newly-developed potato cultivars, peels, and pulps and relate their composition and antioxidative activities to their reported nutritional, health-promoting, and industrial properties.     

Water,sanitation, and hygiene in schools: Status and implications of low coverage in Ethiopia,Kenya, Mozambique,Rwanda, Uganda,and Zambia

Adequate access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) in schools impacts health, educational outcomes, and gender disparities. Little multi-country research has been published on WaSH in rural schools in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this multi-national cross-sectional WaSH study, we document WaSH access, continuity, quality, quantity, and reliability in 2270 schools that were randomly sampled in rural regions of six Sub-Saharan African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia. Data collection included: school WaSH surveys containing internationally established WaSH indicators, direct observation, and field- and laboratory-based microbiological water quality testing. We found 1% of rural schools in Ethiopia and Mozambique to 23% of rural schools in Rwanda had improved water sources on premises, improved sanitation, and water and soap for handwashing. Fewer than 23% of rural schools in the six countries studied met the World Health Organization’s recommended student-to-latrine ratios for boys and for girls. Fewer than 20% were observed to have at least four of five recommended menstrual hygiene services (separate-sex latrines with doors and locks, water for use, waste bin). The low access to safe and adequate WaSH services in rural schools suggest opportunities for WaSH interventions that could have substantive impact on health, education, and gender disparities.     

Contributions of obesity, gender, hunger, food preference, and body size to bite size, bite speed, and rate of eating

College students ate two high preference or two low preference doughnuts under high or low hunger conditions. Subjects were led to believe that we were interested in preference ratings made after eating the doughnuts. The number of bites and the total snack time were covertly recorded. Having weighed the doughnuts previously, we calculated the bite size (amount per bite), bite speed (time per bite), and eating rate (amount per second). Eating rate increased as obesity, body size, hunger, and preference increased; men ate at a faster rate than women. Larger bites accounted for the increased rate of the obese, the high preference subjects, and those having a larger body size. The hungry subjects increased their eating rate by taking faster bites. Men ate faster than women by taking both larger but slower bites. Thus eating rate is under multiple control. The data also suggest that the effects of obesity and, in part, gender on these eating responses may be more parsimoniously explained as body size effects. Modification of these within-session eating responses in order to regulate food intake will be successful only when the relationships among these measures are understood.     

Biodegradability of Cefotiam, Ciprofloxacin, Meropenem, Penicillin G, and Sulfamethoxazole and Inhibition of Waste Water Bacteria

Most antibiotics are metabolized only incompletely by patients after administration and enter the municipal sewage with the patients' excretions. Little is known about their biodegradability in aquatic environments and their role with respect to growing bacterial resistance. Therefore, the biodegradability of some clinically important antibiotic drugs as a very first step of an environmental risk assessment was investigated with the OECD closed bottle test (CBT). To assess toxicity of the test compounds against aquatic bacteria (1) a growth inhibition test (GIT) with Pseudomonas putida was conducted; (2) a toxicity control was used in the CBT; and (3) the colony-forming units (CFUs) were monitored in the test vessels. Theoretical concentrations of the test substances in hospital effluents were calculated and compared with minimum inhibitory concentrations for susceptible pathogenic bacteria. None of the test compounds met the criteria for ready biodegradability. Only penicillin G was biodegradable to some degree (27%), even when the test was prolonged from 28 to 40 days (35%). The inhibition concentrations measured in the GIT were in the same range or lower than the 50% minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC₅₀) known for susceptible pathogenic bacteria. CFU monitoring revealed high toxicity for sulfamethoxazole, whereas ciprofloxacin had a weak but significant effect; only for meropenem a weak but significant effect was measured in the toxicity control of the CBT. MIC₅₀ published for susceptible pathogenic bacteria were for all compounds in the same range as the concentrations expected for hospital effluents. Therefore, antibiotic drugs emitted into municipal sewage may affect the biological process in sewage treatment plants (STPs), and they may persist in the aquatic environment and contribute to the increasing resistance of pathogenic bacteria. Received: 27 July 1998/Accepted: 17 February 1999