Comparing objective and subjective status: Gender and space (and environmental justice?)

The environmental justice literature has described differential health effects of environmental toxins and pollutants on people of different socio-economic status (SES) that may not always reflect differing levels of exposure. We offer four questions or contentions that together may contribute to understanding this conundrum and then present an empirical exploration of one of these questions: Does the relationship between SES and self-perceived status vary in space? Utilizing data from an original questionnaire survey of randomly selected adults conducted in twenty-five communities in British Columbia, Canada, a supplementary data set containing demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the communities themselves, and multilevel modelling techniques, this article describes relationships between objective and subjective measures of social status, by gender and in space. Our analysis contributes to the development of innovative environmental justice models by bringing some spatial sensitivity to interrelationships among these aspects of status.     

Hepatitis A and B in children and adolescents--what can we learn from Puglia (Italy) and Catalonia (Spain)?

Viral hepatitis remains a major contributor to the global disease burden. Mass immunisation strategies against hepatitis B have been adopted by more than 90 developing and industrialised countries. Countries with low hepatitis A endemicity are experiencing cyclical outbreaks and an epidemiological shift, with larger numbers of individuals at risk of infection at an older age, resulting in increased morbidity. The high cost of outbreaks in these countries has made immunisation strategies cost-effective. The development of a vaccine against hepatitis A and a combined vaccine against hepatitis A and hepatitis B offers potentially exciting opportunities for a preventative approach in areas of both low and high endemicity. Existing mass immunisation programmes against hepatitis B will facilitate the adoption of joint strategies illustrated by the examples of Puglia (Italy) and Catalonia (Spain).     

Synthesis,characterization and anti-bacterial studies of mixed-ligand complexes of dithiocarbamato—thiocyanato and iron(III), nickel(II), copper(II) and zinc(II)

Twelve mixed-ligand complexes of Fe(III), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) with Schiff bases of N,N-diethylamino-dithiocarbamate and thiocyanate as ligands, have been synthesized and characterized on the basis of elemental analysis, infrared and electronic spectral studies, as well as magnetic measurements. Anti-bacterial action of these complexes has been evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, Pasteurella multocida, Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus. The activity has been estimated by the filter paper disc and the minimal inhibition concentration methods. A relationship between the anti-bacterial activity and the nature of the ligands and the central atoms of the complexes has been noted.     

Interactions of Fat and Carbohydrate Metabolism—New Aspects and Therapies: (Section of Therapeutics and Pharmacology)

NO one has so far produced anything approaching a clear picture of either fat or carbohydrate metabolism and the interactions of the two are still more involved and elusive although they clearly exist. Plants and animals build up reserves of fat from carbohydrate, but the reverse process (fat into carbohydrate), proved in plant seeds, is still unproven in animals, although theoretically possible.In normal human metabolism fat-carbohydrate interactions are almost hidden. The disturbances shown in the metabolism of a diabetic seem to give us the clearest indications of these interactions. Either carbohydrate or fat can be used as the main source of body fuel, but their metabolic course is very different, both as regards chemistry and function. It is only whep carbohydrate is not available, either in starvation or severe diabetes, that fat provides the fuel of the body; this contrast is also manifest in the blood and internal organs, especially the liver. Under the commonest normal conditions of diet carbohydrate is predominantly and preferentially used for metabolism. The liver is rich in glycogen, poor in fat; the blood fat is minimal and ketone bodies, although perhaps present in small amount in the blood at most times, are absent on common tests. As soon as carbohydrate is insufficiently available for the needs of metabolism, depot fat flows to the liver and is there catabolized to ketone bodies which recent proof has shown to be burned peripherally in the muscles independent of carbohydrate metabolism. This is a normal process, harmful only in diabetes, and especially harmful when it occurs suddenly, e.g. when insulin is cut off from a fat diabetic dog or human patient. A diabetic supports with ease a prolonged severe ketosis but suffers from one of sudden onset, although of milder severity. Insulin in the diabetic and sugar in the starved switches metabolism from fat to carbohydrate usage very quickly and ketonuria usually disappears in three to six hours.“Diabetic obesity” is very common and is often seen in the earliest stages and again after insulin treatment. It seems probable that hyperglycæmia causes this obesity and this has been clearly established by observations on an unusual case of lipæmia, diabetes and lipodystrophy.Lipæcmia may occur in two opposite phases of metabolism, one anabolic—when fat is on its way to storage, the other catabolic—when it is flowing from stores to the liver. The latter is the usual condition obvious in disease.Work has also been done which suggests that other lipotropic factors—choline, lipocaic, &c., exert an influence on carbohydrate-fat balance, more specifically the glycogen-fat balance in the liver.In America attention has been drawn to the frequent and persistenzt occurrence of fatty enlargement of the liver in diabetic children. The author has seen many diabetic children (usually in a state of chronic ketosis) with enlarged livers, but such enlargement has rapidly disappeared with better management of the diabetes. Only two out of some 500 diabetic children have clearly shown the unmistakable syndrome of “hepatomegalic dwarfism ”. In these two cases choline and lipocaic were given over prolonged periods without any effect: the liver, however, of one of these cases has since become normal by the addition of zinc protamine insulin.     

Topiramate reduces energy and fat gains in lean (Fa/?) and obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effects of topiramate (TPM), a novel neurotherapeutic agent reported to reduce body weight in humans, on the components of energy balance in female Zucker rats. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: A 2 x 3 factorial experiment was performed in which two cohorts of Zucker rats differing in their phenotype (phenotype: lean, Fa/?; obese, fa/fa) were each divided into three groups defined by the dose of TPM administered (dose: TPM 0, vehicle; TPM 15, 15 mg/kg; TPM 60, 60 mg/kg). RESULTS: The reduction in body weight gain induced by TPM in both lean and obese rats reflected a decrease in total body energy gain, which was more evident in obese than in lean rats. Whereas TPM administration did not influence the intake of digestible energy in lean rats, it induced a reduction in food intake in obese animals. In lean, but not in obese rats, apparent energy expenditure (as calculated by the difference between energy intake and energy gain) was higher in rats treated with TPM than in animals administered the vehicle. The low dose of TPM decreased fat gain (with emphasis on subcutaneous fat) without affecting protein gain, whereas the high dose of the drug induced a reduction in both fat and protein gains. The effects of TPM on muscle and fat depot weights were representative of the global effects of TPM on whole body fat and protein gains. The calculated energetic efficiency (energy gain/energy intake) was decreased in both lean and obese rats after TPM treatment. TPM dose independently reduced hyperinsulinemia of obese rats, but it did not alter insulinemia of lean animals. DISCUSSION: The present results provide sound evidence for the ability of TPM to reduce fat and energy gains through reducing energetic efficiency in both lean and obese Zucker rats.     

Does staying in school (and not working) prevent teen smoking and drinking?

Previous work suggests but cannot prove that education improves health behaviors. We exploit a randomized intervention that increased schooling (and reduced working) among male students in the Dominican Republic, by providing information on the returns to schooling. We find that treated youths were much less likely to smoke at age 18 and had delayed onset of daily or regular drinking. The effects appear to be due to changes in peer networks and disposable income. We find no evidence of a direct impact of schooling on rates of time preference, attitudes towards risk or perceptions that drinking or smoking are harmful to health, though our measures of these factors are more limited.     

The death (and rebirth?) of organization development

Reviews the origins and development of organization development (OD) in health care. Examines how a set of original OD assumptions and values has changed through time, and suggests some foundations for a "born-again" OD.     

Natural dietary ingredients (oats and alfalfa) induce covalent DNA modifications (I‐compounds) in rat liver and kidney

Mammalian tissue DNA has recently been found, via ³²P postlabeling, to contain complex profiles of age‐dependent bulky carcinogen adductlike covalent modifications, which have been termed I‐compounds, referring to their apparent indigenous origin without exposure to exogenous carcinogens. I‐compound patterns are highly species, sex, tissue, and diet specific. As shown here, the presence of certain plant ingredients in diet, i.e., ground oats and alfalfa meal, significantly contributed to the formation of these DNA derivatives.

Six groups of weanling female Sprague‐Dawley rats were fed one of the following diets for three months: a natural ingredient diet containing neither oats nor alfalfa (Wayne MRH 22/5 Rodent Blox), Wayne diet supplemented with oats or alfalfa or both, a purified semisynthetic diet (AIN‐76A), and AIN diet supplemented with oats. The natural ingredient diet produced more complex patterns and higher levels of I‐compounds than purified diet in both liver and kidney DNA. Supplementation of either diet with oats elicited the formation of four additional oats‐specific I‐compounds in liver DNA. Oats and alfalfa, individually and in combination, tended to significantly raise nonpolar and diminish polar I‐compound levels.

To determine whether the oats‐related extra spots were derived from mycotoxin contamination, two groups of rats were fed either Wayne diet or Wayne diet containing zearalenone (0.05 mg/kg) for three weeks. Zearalenone significantly increased the uterine weight but did not induce any DNA adduct formation. These findings establish a novel link between specific natural food ingredients and carcinogen adductlike DNA derivatives and may provide a model to investigate events occurring at the juncture of nutrition, metabolism, gene expression, aging, and cancer.     

Why are some books important (and others not)?

The book Why Are Some People Healthy and Others Not? The Determinants of Health of Populations represented a milestone in our evolving understanding of the determinants of population health. Building on Marc Lalonde's earlier A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians, it created a theoretical framework that could incorporate emerging evidence from a wide range of disciplines. Central to its authors' approach was the observation of heterogeneity, of the systematic differences in health observed when populations are partitioned on characteristics such as income, education, geographic region, etc. The universal observation of a social gradient, of a strong correlation between socio-economic class and health, led to a focus on how the social environment might influence health. Social position strongly influences both the stresses to which individuals are subject, and the resources available to cope with them. Furthermore, healthy and unhealthy responses to stress become "embedded", learned or conditioned both behaviourally and biologically, thus influencing health over the whole life course. The book's impact has been remarkable, not merely in academic citations but through its authors' subsequent work and strategic positions in Canadian health research organizations. The concept of "Population Health" has become part of our shared intellectual heritage.     

The alcohol-preferring (P) and high-alcohol-drinking (HAD) rats – Animal models of alcoholism

The objective of this article is to review the literature on the utility of using the selectively bred alcohol-preferring (P) and high-alcohol-drinking (HAD) lines of rats in studies examining high alcohol drinking in adults and adolescents, craving-like behavior, and the co-abuse of alcohol with other drugs. The P line of rats meets all of the originally proposed criteria for a suitable animal model of alcoholism. In addition, the P rat exhibits high alcohol-seeking behavior, demonstrates an alcohol deprivation effect (ADE) under relapse drinking conditions, consumes amounts of ethanol during adolescence equivalent to those consumed in adulthood, and co-abuses ethanol and nicotine. The P line also exhibits excessive binge-like alcohol drinking, attaining blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of 200 mg% on a daily basis. The HAD replicate lines of rats have not been as extensively studied as the P rats. The HAD1,2 rats satisfy several of the criteria for an animal model of alcoholism, e.g., these rats will voluntarily consume ethanol in a free-choice situation to produce BACs between 50 and 200 mg%. The HAD1,2 rats also exhibit an ADE under repeated relapse conditions, and will demonstrate similar levels of ethanol intake during adolescence as seen in adults. Overall, the P and HAD1,2 rats have characteristics attributed to an early onset alcoholic, and can be used to study various aspects of alcohol use disorders.     

生理与病理基因组学(physiological genomics and pathological genomics)

人体多种生理表现如神经系统活动、循环系统活动、消化系统活动、内分泌系统活动、运动系统活动、代谢系统活动、修复系统活动、免疫系统活动等以及由这些活动而表现出来的复杂性状 (数量性状 )都与相关基因的参与密切相关 ,基因组学研究可以提供参与相关生理作用的基因作用谱 ,涉及基因作用的生化通路以及基因 -基因、生化通路 -生化通路之间相互作用的网络图。这种将生理学与基因组学结合起来的边缘学科叫生理基因组学。当正常生理过程受到破坏而形成病理过程时 ,基因表达谱和相互作用网络图也随之改变 ,故把病理学和基因组学结合起来进行…     

Challenges and Opportunities of Promoting Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in Iran’s Internet Arena

Promoters of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) increasingly benefit from the use of the Internet. The purpose of this article is to study the barriers and opportunities facing the promotion of complementary and alternative medicine in Iran’s Internet space. The main research questions are: What are the obstacles encountered in Iran while using the Internet to promote CAM? What opportunities are available for promoting CAM on the Internet? How did Iranian users interact with complementary and alternative Internet sites? In the study, 24 executives of CAM websites in Iran were interviewed; executives were selected through purposive sampling. According to the findings, the greatest opportunity provided by the Internet in Iran is “the Internet as a new arena to compete with modern medical discourse.” Yet, barriers to engaging in the Iranian Internet include “obstacles related to different ways of users’ presence,” “obstacles to CAM site management,” “obstacles caused by Iran’s Internet regulations,” and “the dominance of modern medical discourse even on the Internet.” Thus, the Internet has provided an opportunity to challenge modern medical discourse in Iran, but due to the specific conditions of Iran’s Internet, there are still many limitations to the presence of competing medical discourses on the Internet.     

Primary care physicians’ experience with zoster vaccine live (ZVL) and awareness and attitudes regarding the new recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV)

BackgroundThe Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has routinely recommended zoster vaccine live (ZVL) for adults ≥60 since 2008; only 33% of eligible adults received it by 2016. A recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV) was licensed in 2017 and ACIP recommended in January 2018. Our objectives were to assess among primary care physicians (1) practices and attitudes regarding ZVL and (2) awareness of RZV.MethodsWe administered an Internet and mail survey from July to September 2016 to national networks of 953 primary care physicians.ResultsResponse rate was 65% (603/923). Ninety-three % of physicians recommended ZVL to adults ≥60, but fewer recommended it to adults ≥60 with a prior history of zoster (88%), adults > 85 (62%) and adults ≥60 on low-dose methotrexate (42%). Several physicians recommended ZVL in ways that are not recommended by ACIP including to adults 50–59 (50%), adults ≥60 with HIV (33%), and adults ≥60 on high dose prednisone (≥20 mg/day) (27%). Nineteen percent of physicians stocked and administered ZVL and did not refer patients elsewhere for vaccination, 37% did not stock and only referred patients to receive it, and 44% both stocked/administered and referred elsewhere. Twenty-three % (n = 115) of physicians who had ever administered ZVL in the office (n = 490) had stopped, citing primarily financial issues (90%). Only 5% were ‘very aware’ of RZV.ConclusionsPhysicians report not recommending ZVL to certain ACIP-recommended groups, but report recommending it to some groups for which the vaccine should be avoided. Implementation of recommendations for RZV will need to consider financial barriers and the complex patchwork of office-based and pharmacy delivery ZVL has encountered.