Season of birth and prevalence of overweight and obesity in Canada

BACKGROUND:: The contexts of prenatal life, such as one's season of birth, have been shown to influence health later in life. For example, research has shown a disproportionate number of schizophrenic patients are born during the late winter and early spring. The purpose of this study was to examine season of birth as a possible risk for overweight and obesity. METHODOLOGY:: Utilizing cycle 2.1 of the Canadian Community Health Survey, birth data of respondents 12 to 64 years old were examined. The risk associated with season of birth was compared to risks previously identified for overweight and obesity (e.g. physical inactivity, low socioeconomic status etc.). RESULTS:: Overall, among the 20-64 year olds, those in the obese III (BMI>/=40 kg/m(2)) category were 1.54 times more likely to be born in the winter (95% CI: 1.21-1.95). This effect appears largely due to a winter/spring season of birth effect among the obese II/III (BMI>/=35) 20-29 y cohort (Winter OR: 1.53, 95% CI: 1.08-2.18; Spring OR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.10-2.18). A summer season of birth effect was observed for the obese II/III 40-49 y cohort (OR: 1.59, 95% CI: 1.21-2.11). No season of birth effects were observed among any BMI categories for those 12-19 years, or among those 20 y and over in the overweight BMI category. CONCLUSION:: A greater proprtion of class III obese Canadians are born during the winter/spring, particularly in the 20-29 y age cohort. However, other factors (e.g. physical inactivity) represent greater risks for obesity than season of birth.     

延期妊娠并发羊水过少对围产儿影响的临床分析

目的:探讨延期妊娠分娩对围产儿的影响。方法:对延期妊娠352例临床资料进行分析(羊水过少组78例,羊水 正常组274例),观察围产儿的情况并进行对比分析。结果:延期妊娠并发羊水过少组胎儿窘迫、新生儿窒息、胎盘成熟度Ⅲ+级 及胎盘钙化均显著高于羊水正常组。结论:延期妊娠并发羊水过少确诊后适时以剖宫产结束分娩为宜。     

天王补心丸全方及方中缺桔梗对小鼠镇静催眠作用的影响

目的:探讨中药古方天王补心丸对小鼠中枢神经系统的药理影响及舟楫之剂桔梗在该方剂中的作用.方法:采用小鼠自发活动计数、延长戊巴比妥钠睡眠时间及抗惊厥试验等方法,观察天王补心丸方、缺桔梗的天王补心丸方、天王补心丸中臣药酸枣仁、酸枣仁与桔梗配伍及其桔梗单独使用时的镇静、催眠与抗惊厥作用.结果:天王补心丸有良好的镇静、催眠与抗惊厥作用,但该方去掉桔梗后,镇静、催眠与抗惊厥效果明显下降;天王补心丸中重要成分酸枣仁本身有较好的镇静催眠作用加上桔梗后效果得到加强,但不如天王补心丸全方,桔梗本身没有镇静、催眠与抗惊厥作用.结论:在天王补心丸方剂的配伍中,桔梗作为舟楫之剂确实能载药上浮,增强该方对中枢神经系统的作用.     

酸枣仁油的毒理学研究

目的：评价酸枣仁油的用药安全性。方法：常规毒性实验和血液生化检查。结果：酸枣仁油对大小鼠均未测出LD50，家兔皮肤刺激实验未见急性毒性反应。大鼠的体重、血液学检查、血液生化学检查无显著性差异，大鼠的心、肝、脾、肺、肾、肾上腺、胸腺、睾丸、子宫、卵巢等器官肉眼观察及病理切片先镜检查，均未发现明显病理改变。豚鼠皮肤、兔眼睛及阴道局部应用，未见明显刺激反应。豚鼠皮肤未见过敏反应。结论：临床应用酸枣仁油并无毒性。     

延期妊娠并发羊水过少对母婴的影响96例临床观察

目的 探讨延期妊娠并发羊水过少对母婴的影响。方法 采用回顾性分析方法,对延期妊娠分娩的产妇羊水正常组244例及羊水过少组96例进行对比分析。结果 羊水过少组中羊水Ⅱ度以上粪染、胎盘成熟Ⅲ^ 级及胎盘钙化、胎儿宫内窘迫、新生儿窒息率、产后出血率及剖宫产率明显高于羊水正常组。结论 羊水过少是胎儿宫内慢性缺氧最敏感的特异性指标,无论是延期妊娠还是过期妊娠一经确珍,应积极引产,估计短时间内不能分娩,宜行剖宫产结束妊娠。     

70批29种超过3年无效期注射剂质量的研究

目的 :研究从临床抽出的70批29种已超过3年无效期注射剂的质量。方法 :检查70批注射剂的澄明度、性状 ,测定其中55批注射剂的pH值、35批注射剂的含量。结果 :澄明度、性状有14批不符合规定 ,pH值有2批不符合规定 ,检测的35批注射剂的含量都符合规定 ;总计抽检70批 ,16批不符合规定 ,不合格率为22 9 %。结论 :要加强无效期注射剂的监督管理     

College student attitudes toward forcible date rape: I. Cognitive predictors

Students completed a questionnaire measuring acceptance of forcible date rape, attitudes toward women, sexual knowledge, sexual experience, tolerance of socially unapproved sexual behavior, and religiosity. Findings suggested that persons relatively more accepting of forcible date rape are less sure it really is rape, have more traditional attitudes toward women, are more selfsexually permissive (i.e., more tolerant of their own socially unapproved of sexual behavior, such as premarital and extramarital sex with friends or casual acquaintances), have less accurate sexual knowledge and, though a large majority blame the male, are slightly more inclined than others to blame society or the situation. These predictor variables accounted for 35% of the variance in attitudes toward forcible date rape and identified correctly about two-thirds of the students classified as nonrejectors of forcible date rape, i.e., those who did not consider the male's behavior definitely unacceptable under any one of nine circumstances, including He spent a lot of money on her. In addition to the emotional and personality variables often cited in rapists, the cognitive predictor variables found may be salient to understanding the etiology of rape.This paper was first presented at meetings of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sex, September 1985, in San Diego, California.     

Long-term mortality study of oil refinery workers: V. Comparison of workers hired before, during, and after World War II (1940-1945) with a discussion of the impact of study designs on cohort results

The mortality experience of a large refinery cohort (1937-1978) was examined by dividing it into three subcohorts according to hire dates: those hired before 1940, those hired during the period 1940-1945, and those hired after 1945. These three periods are approximately equivalent to before, during, and after World War II and span a total hiring period of more than 75 years. The results showed that a substantial portion of the cohort (3,330 or 27%) had been recruited during 1940-1945, and they contributed 980 or 28% of the total deaths. However, their mortality experience was quite different from the rest. A series of significant increases were seen among the external causes for accidents, suicide, and homicide. In terms of overall mortality and in contrast to the rest of the cohort, no "healthy worker effect" was seen (SMR = 1.00). They also showed increases in several types of cancer including cancers of the pancreas and prostate and leukemia. These unusual experiences cannot be explained either on the basis of their war-related deaths or on their period of employment (one-half were terminated within 1 year from date of hire), and data is insufficient to separate the role of hiring practices or their socioeconomic status. However, their life-styles were probably quite different judged from the fact that alcoholism-related deaths were increased as much as fivefold. Almost two-thirds of the total deaths occurred among 4,080 workers in the before 1940 subcohort. Further, the 5,117 workers of the after-1945 subcohort contributed only 5% of the total deaths. Thus, the results of the original refinery cohort (1937-1978) primarily reflect the experience of those employees hired before 1940. Given the same cohort method (historical prospective), cohort results vary widely according to different study designs, and this has implications for "generalizable" risk assessment or risk projections. A prospective study of new hires with 30 years of follow-up is rather inefficient because it would yield only a small number of deaths, with a strong healthy worker effect. The same is true for studies based on active workers with a short period of follow-up. Studies based on time of hire, however, provide a means for controlling time-related occupational exposures.     

Phoenix dactylifera seeds ameliorate early diabetic complications in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

Abstract

Context: In Arabic folk medicine, the seeds of Phoenix dactylifera L. (Arecaceae) have been used to manage diabetes for many years. Few studies have reported the antidiabetic effect of P. dactylifera seeds; however, their effect on diabetic complications is still unexplored.

Objective: The present study investigates the protective effect of P. dactylifera seeds against diabetic complications in rats.

Material and methods: The aqueous suspension of P. dactylifera seeds (aqPDS) (1?g/kg/d) was orally administered to streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats for 4 weeks. The serum biochemical parameters were assessed spectrophotometrically. Furthermore, oxidative stress was examined in both liver and kidney tissues by assessment of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), nitric oxide (NO), reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase, and catalase.

Results: Oral administration of aqPDS significantly ameliorated the elevated levels of glucose (248?±?42 versus 508?±?60?mg/dl), urea (32?±?3.3 versus 48.3?±?5.6?mg/dl), creatinine (2.2?±?0.35 versus 3.8?±?0.37?mg/dl), ALT (29.6?±?3.9 versus 46.4?±?5.9?IU/l), and AST (73.3?±?13 versus 127.8?±?18.7?IU/l) compared with the untreated diabetic rats. In addition to significant augmentation in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, there was reduction in TBARS and NO levels and improvement of histopathological architecture of the liver and kidney of diabetic rats.

Discussion and conclusion: The aqPDS showed potential protective effects against early diabetic complications of both liver and kidney. This effect may be explained by the antioxidant and free radical scavenging capabilities of P. dactylifera seeds.     

Use of smoking reduction strategies among U.S. tobacco quitlines

Introduction

Tobacco quitlines (QLs) are efficacious and have assisted many smokers in achieving tobacco abstinence. However, most smokers are not able to achieve tobacco abstinence with QL services. QL counseling interventions for smokers who do not quit on their target quit date (TQD) and decline to set a new TQD after missing their TQD have not been systematically evaluated.

Methods

A telephone survey of tobacco QLs in the United States (US) was conducted to examine systematic approaches used with smokers who do not quit on their TQD and decline to set a new TQD. Tobacco QLs service providers were identified through the North American Quitline Consortium (NAQC).

Results

Fourteen service providers managing QLs of all 50 US states were identified and completed the voluntary survey. All providers recommended setting a new quit TQD if smokers did not achieve smoking cessation by their initial TQD. Six percent of US state QLs used brief motivational interviewing utilizing the “5R's” (relevance, risk, rewards, roadblocks, repetition). However, 90% of QLs had intervention protocols emphasizing smoking rate reduction.

Conclusion

Although some US QLs utilized the “5Rs,” the majority provided smoking reduction interventions for smokers not achieving tobacco cessation by their initial TQD and declining to set a new TQD. Research is needed to evaluate the efficacy of smoking rate reduction methods implemented through QLs for increasing smoking abstinence rates.