Noise characterization of “effective quiet” areas on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier

The purpose of this investigation was to characterize noise levels in spaces designated as “effective quiet” areas on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. Noise dosimetry samples were collected in 15 designated spaces, representing 15 noise measurements, while at-sea during airwing carrier qualifications. Equivalent sound level (L_eq) measurements were collected during flight operations (L_{eq (flt ops)}), non-flight operations (L_{eq (non-flt ops)}), and over 24-hr periods (L_{eq (24-hr)}). These data were compared to the 70 dBA American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH^®) Threshold Limit Value (TLV^®) for “effective quiet” areas intended for temporary threshold shift recovery when personnel live and work in a potentially noise hazardous environment for periods greater than 24?hr. The monitored areas were selected based on personnel occupancy/use during off-duty time periods. Areas were classified by either (1) leisure areas that included mess (eating areas), gyms, lounges, an internet cafe, and the fantail social area or (2) berthing (sleeping) areas. The L_eq measurements in decibels “A” weighted (dBA) were compared to determine significant differences between L_{eq (flt ops)}, L_{eq (non-flt ops)}, and L_{eq (24-hr)} and were compared between leisure area and berthing area. Measured noise levels according to time period ranged as follows: (1) L_{eq (24-hr)}: 70.8–105.4 dBA; (2) L_{eq (flt ops)}: 70–101.2 dBA; and (3) L_{eq (non-flt ops)}: 39.4–104.6 dBA. All area measurements over the 24-hr period and during flight operations and 46.7% of the areas during the non-flight operation time period exceeded the “effective quiet” 70 dBA ACGIH TLV. Mean L_eqs were 15 dBA higher during flight operations compared to non-flight operations in “effective quiet” areas (p?=?0.001). The L_eqs in leisure areas were significantly higher than berthing areas by approximately 21 dBA during non-flight operation periods (p?=?0.001). Results suggest noise levels in “effective quiet” areas frequented by aircraft carrier personnel during off-duty hours when at-sea may inhibit auditory recovery from occupational noise exposures that occur on-duty.     

Differential antitumor activity and toxicity of isomeric 1,2-diaminocyclohexane platinum (II) complexes

Acquired resistance is a main drawback of using cisplatin in cancer chemotherapy; however, analogs containing the 1,2-diaminocyclohexane (DACH) ligand can overcome this resistance. Because DACH can exist as thetrans-1R,2R, trans-1S,2S orcis isomer, the antitumor activity and toxicity of individual isomers of both DACH(sulfato)Pt(II) and DACH(1,1-cyclobutanedicarboxylato)Pt(II) complexes have been examined. At optimal doses, differences in antitumor activities among the three isomers were moderately dependent on the in vivo tumor models (L1210/0, L1210/DDP, B16 and M5076). However, differences in efficacy among these isomers were greatly modulated by the sulfate or 1,1-cyclobutanedicarboxylate (CBDCA) leaving ligands. Thus, thetrans isomers (R,R and/orS,S) of the sulfate complex generally had greater activities than the correspondingcis form, while thecis configuration appeared to be superior in the complex containing the CBDCA ligand. The isomers were also compared for their potential to elicit myelosuppression and kidney toxicity. Of the six isomers investigated,cis-DACH(CBDCA)Pt(II) was myelosuppressive, and the correspondingR,R andS,S isomers were mildly nephrotoxic. No such toxicities were apparent with any of the sulfate complexes. From these studies, particularly with the cisplatin-resistant L1210/DDP cell line, theR,R isomers are evidently the most interesting. However, it is possible that other leaving ligands or tumor models may indicate eitherS,S- orcis-DACH as the isomer worthy of greater interest.Abbreviations DACH 1,2-diaminocyclohexane - CBDCA 1,1-cyclobutane-dicarboxylate This work was supported by NIH grant CA-41581 and in part by NIH Cancer Center (Core) support grant CA-16672     

Circulating osteoprotegerin is correlated with lipid profile, insulin sensitivity, adiponectin and sex steroids in an ageing male population

OBJECTIVE: The relationship between osteoprotegerin (OPG) and lipid profile, insulin sensitivity, adipocytokines and sex steroids has been poorly studied and subject to controversy. The purpose of this study was to look at the correlates of OPG in an elderly male population. DESIGN: One hundred and fifty-one nondiabetic, elderly Lebanese men (age range 50-83) were recruited in this cross-sectional study based on voluntary enrolment. MEASUREMENTS: In all the subjects, serum OPG levels were measured and related to clinical parameters (age, waist, body mass index (BMI), systolic and diastolic blood pressure), as well as to metabolic and hormonal parameters. The following fasting laboratory measurements were performed: plasma glucose and insulin levels, total cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol, adiponectin, leptin, as well as sex steroids (testosterone, SHBG, free androgen index, ooestradiol, DHEAS), GH and IGF-1. QUICKI index was calculated as a measure of insulin sensitivity. RESULTS: OPG levels were significantly correlated with age (r = 0.28, P < 0.0001) but not with BMI, waist, systolic or diastolic blood pressure. There was a trend towards higher OPG levels in subjects without, compared to subjects with the metabolic syndrome (3.58 +/- 1.28 vs. 3.26 +/- 1.04 pmol/l, P = 0.09). OPG was negatively correlated with fasting glucose and triglyceride levels (r = -0.18, P = 0.031 and r = -0.19, P = 0.02, respectively) and positively correlated with the QUICKI index (r = 0.17, P = 0.033), HDL cholesterol (r = 0.21, P = 0.009) and adiponectin levels (r = 0.27, P = 0.001). No significant correlations were reported with total or LDL cholesterol levels and with leptin levels. After adjustment for age, OPG is still correlated with triglycerides (r = -0.19, P = 0.02), glucose (r = -0.21, P = 0.011) and adiponectin (r = 0.19, P = 0.02). Finally, OPG was positively associated with SHBG (r = 0.31, P < 0.001) and negatively associated with free androgen index (r =-0.346, P < 0.001); both correlations persisted after adjustment for age (r = 0.21, P = 0.009 and r = -0.23, P = 0.005, respectively). No significant correlation was found between OPG and oestradiol levels while a weak negative correlation was demonstrated with DHEAS (r = -0.18, P = 0.025). Also, no significant correlation was found between OPG and GH or IGF-1 values. In a multiple regression analysis with a stepwise model, the main determinants of OPG were free androgen index and adiponectin (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.015, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our results show that circulating OPG levels are favourably associated with some components of the metabolic syndrome. Also, for the first time, an association between OPG and adiponectin is described. Finally, the negative correlation we found between OPG and free androgen index may suggest a potential role of OPG in the increase in cardiovascular disease related to ageing and sex steroid deficiency.     

HIV Infection Among People Who Inject Drugs in the United States: Geographically Explained Variance Across Racial and Ethnic Groups

Objectives. We explored how variance in HIV infection is distributed across multiple geographical scales among people who inject drugs (PWID) in the United States, overall and within racial/ethnic groups.Methods. People who inject drugs (n = 9077) were recruited via respondent-driven sampling from 19 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2009 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance system. We used multilevel modeling to determine the percentage of variance in HIV infection explained by zip codes, counties, and MSAs where PWID lived, overall and for specific racial/ethnic groups.Results. Collectively, zip codes, counties, and MSAs explained 29% of variance in HIV infection. Within specific racial/ethnic groups, all 3 scales explained variance in HIV infection among non-Hispanic/Latino White PWID (4.3%, 0.2%, and 7.5%, respectively), MSAs explained variance among Hispanic/Latino PWID (10.1%), and counties explained variance among non-Hispanic/Latino Black PWID (6.9%).Conclusions. Exposure to potential determinants of HIV infection at zip codes, counties, and MSAs may vary for different racial/ethnic groups of PWID, and may reveal opportunities to identify and ameliorate intraracial inequities in exposure to determinants of HIV infection at these geographical scales.Since the mid-1990s, there has been an increase in studies evaluating whether features of the social, economic, physical, and political environment (i.e., place characteristics) affect health. This focus on place characteristics is evident in the development of theories conceptualizing place characteristics as health determinants,1–3 in the use of geospatial and systematic social observation methods to measure place characteristics,4–10 in the application of multilevel modeling to assess the potential impacts of place characteristics,11–18 and in the recognition that interventions should not solely encourage individual behavior change but also modify environmental features.3,16,19Literature emerging from this field of research demonstrates that place characteristics operationalized at different geographical scales influence psychosocial processes and individual behaviors that increase vulnerability to several health outcomes. With rare exception,20–24 however, studies of place and health typically assess the potential influence of place characteristics at a single geographical scale and do not simultaneously evaluate characteristics of other geographical scales. For example, several studies, including our own,25,26 sample participants from a single metropolitan statistical area (MSA) to assess the relationships of census tract characteristics to health, without sampling participants from multiple MSAs to simultaneously assess the relationships of tract-, county-, and MSA-level characteristics to health.25–32 The decision to focus on characteristics of a single geographical scale may arise because of data availability, cost constraints, or feasibility.Studies of place and health that focus on a single geographical scale, however, may misspecify relationships and hinder the exploration of causal pathways in 2 ways. First, studies that focus on features measured at a single geographical scale may overlook potential health determinants that are operationalized at other geographical scales. For instance, research assessing the relationships of features of neighborhoods (e.g., economic deprivation, racial/ethnic composition, policing practices, and “crackdowns”) cannot determine the influence of policies, laws, and governmental expenditures that are operationalized at county, MSA, and state levels, and shape neighborhood environments. Second, studies of features of a single geographical scale cannot determine whether relationships between characteristics operating at one geographical scale are confounded, mediated, or modified by characteristics of other geographic scales.3,16,33 The possibility that at least 1 of these mechanisms can occur has been demonstrated in research conducted by Warner and Gomez, which suggests that, among Black women diagnosed with breast cancer, residing in census blocks with high concentrations of Black residents is more protective against mortality in more racially segregated metropolitan areas than less racially segregated metropolitan areas.34In addition, research assessing the association of place-based factors with health outcomes rarely highlights the extent to which variance in health outcomes is explained by place and place-based factors. Determining whether health outcomes vary geographically can generate hypotheses about inequities in exposure to potential place-based determinants of health, and thereby inform how interventions and social policies are developed and spatially concentrated.35The present study illustrates the generative possibilities of extending research beyond a single geographical scale by achieving 2 primary aims. The study’s first aim is to determine the share of total variance in HIV infection that is apportioned to zip codes, counties, and MSAs among people who inject drugs (PWID). In the United States, PWID account for 22% of people living with HIV,36 and a growing body of literature demonstrates that features of neighborhoods such as census-tract racial composition and block-level social or physical disorder are associated with HIV-related outcomes among PWID,37,38 as are features of MSAs, including drug-related law enforcement, income inequality, residential segregation, and health service access.39–41 Revealing the geographical scale to which variance in HIV infection is apportioned among PWID can stimulate hypotheses about inequities in exposure to place-based determinants of HIV and inform the development and tailoring of place-based interventions. For example, finding high MSA-level variance in HIV infection may support analyses of whether MSA-level variations in health care service access predict variance in HIV serostatus and, if they do, support interventions to increase health care access in low-access MSAs. In contrast, if little to no variance in HIV infection among PWID is apportioned to MSAs, PWID may encounter a relatively uniform exposure to health care service access.Previous studies have found that variance in some health outcomes vary across racial/ethnic groups.42,43 The second aim of this study therefore tests the hypothesis that variance in HIV infection will differ within each of 3 racial/ethnic groups of PWID: non-Hispanic/Latino Whites, non-Hispanic/Latino Blacks, and Hispanics/Latinos.     

Long-term effects of PERV-specific RNA interference in transgenic pigs

Semaan M, Kaulitz D, Petersen B, Niemann H, Denner J. Long‐term effects of PERV‐specific RNA interference in transgenic pigs. Xenotransplantation 2012; 19: 112–121. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: Background: Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) represent a risk of xenotransplantation using porcine cells, tissues, or organs, as they are integrated in the porcine genome and have been shown to be able to infect human cells in vitro. To increase viral safety by RNA interference, transgenic pigs expressing a PERV‐specific small hairpin (sh)RNA targeted to a highly conserved sequence in the pol gene (pol2) were generated in which expression of PERVs was reduced (Xenotransplantation, 15, 2008, 38). However, it remains to be shown how long expression of the shRNA and the RNA interference is effective in reducing PERV expression. Methods: To analyze the long‐term duration of RNA interference, expression of the PERV‐specific pol2 shRNA and inhibition of PERV expression was studied repeatedly in fibroblasts and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of transgenic pigs over a period of 3 yr, when animals were sacrificed and expression was studied in different organs. Expression of the PERV‐specific shRNA was measured using a newly developed real‐time PCR, and expression of PERV was measured using a PERV‐specific real‐time PCR. Results: Over a period of 3 yr, PERV‐specific shRNA and green fluorescent protein (GFP) as reporter of the vector system were consistently expressed in transgenic animals. PERV expression was significantly reduced during the entire period. Levels of PERV and shRNA expression were different in the various organs. PERV expression was highest in the spleen and the lungs and lowest in liver and heart. However, in all organs of the transgenic pigs, PERV expression was inhibited compared with the vector control animals. Conclusions: Transgenic pigs expressing PERV‐specific shRNA maintained their specific RNA interference long term, suggesting that PERV expression in the xenotransplants will be suppressed over extended periods of time.