Working capacity and pulmonary gas exchange in children with exercise-induced asthma

Sixteen children aged 10.1-14.3 years with a history of exercise-induced asthma (EIA) were evaluated as to their working capacity both during a maximal exercise test and during submaximal exercise. During submaximal exercise ventilation and alveolar gas exchange were measured. Working capacity was normal with respect to the oxygen uptake and to the maximal load. Arterial blood gases were normal before exercise but PaO2 decreased (p less than 0.01) during the submaximal exercise test. The values were, however, still within the normal limits in all but two of the children. The flow-volume data showed bronchial obstruction in the resting state, before exercise, with lower values of MEF50 and MEF25 (p less than 0.01) than in healthy children. Following exercise, 14 of the 16 children developed clinical symptoms of asthma with increased impairment of the flow-volume curves. Most of them recovered from asthmatic symptoms within 30 min. Flow-volume curves were found to be a sensitive measurement of bronchial obstruction during the symptom-free phase and during EIA although with larger individual variations than FEV1.     

The homogeneity of the faecal coliform flora of normal school-girls,characterized by serological and biochemical properties

The homogeneity of fecal coliform flora in 52 schoolgirls was studied by serotyping and biotyping 10 randomly selected colonies in one fecal culture from each child. Ninety-eight clones were identified and of these 52 were dominant and 46 were minor strains. The probability of including at least one isolate of the dominant clone in a small random sample of colonies was calculated to be 86% for one colony, 94% for 2, 97% for 3, 99% for 4, and 99.3% for 5 randomly selected colonies.     

48-Lead Electrocardiogram in the Diagnosis of Non-Acute Myocardial Infarction

ABSTRACT. A 48-lead ECG including six extremity leads and seven vertical rows of six chest leads was registered in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) and controls. Patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, bundle branch block or ventricular hypertrophy were excluded. The control group consisted of 75 healthy persons, aged 21–38, and 37 older patients who had never had MI, as verifed later at autopsy. The R wave amplitude was measured in each of the 42 chest leads and the normalized amplitude difference between each two adjacent leads (“quotient”) was calculated in horizontal and vertical direction. The ranges of these 71 quotients constituted, occasionally after exclusion of an extreme value, the reference to which 192 patients with MI were compared. The MIs were diagnosed by serum enzyme estimations, in 119 patients about one week and in 52 about one year prior to the ECG recording. In another 21 patients the diagnosis was subsequently confirmed at autopsy. The highest number of excluded extreme values in any control was three and, consequently, the presence of 4 quotients or more per ECG falling outside the reference range was used as the MI criterion of the 42 chest leads. Together with common Q wave criteria applied to the extremity leads it detected 70% of the 192 MIs. Fifty-nine per cent fulfilled the common criteria applied to the 13-lead ECG included in the 48-lead recording (extremity leads and CR_{4R–1–2–3–4–5–7}). In order to estimate the specificity of this 48-lead ECG, the control group was randomly divided into two halves. For one half, new reference ranges for the 71 quotients were estimated. The quotient values of the other half as well as of the MI patients were compared to this new reference range for each quotient. At 70% sensitivity—as found above—the specificity was 95%. The specificity of the 13-lead ECG was 96%.     

Predictive eye movements do not discriminate between dyslexic and control children

Pavlidis has suggested that predictive saccadic tracking eye movements distinguish between reading disabled and normal children. We have examined saccadic eye movement tracking in 34 dyslexic and 33 control subjects, between 10 and 12 yr old. The subjects were equivalent in performance IQ (WISC-R), with differences between verbal and performance IQ of less than 30 points. Children with neurological, visual or auditory deficits or histories of emotional problems and hyperactivity were excluded. There were no differences between the groups on the eye movement tracking task when scored objectively by computerized analysis of the eye movement records, or by ranking of the records by an experienced observer. Our results (and those of other recent studies) fail to support Pavlidis' contention that eye movements hold the key to dyslexia.     

Prevalence of female genital mutilation among African women resident in the Swedish county of Ostergötland

OBJECTIVES: To establish the prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM) among African women resident in the Swedish County of Osterg?tland and assess the types of FGM. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three hundred and four African women aged > or = 18 years were domiciled in Osterg?tland by the end of 1998. The women were invited by letter. A socio-cultural questionnaire designed to give an overall picture of FGM within a socio-economic context, and also to invite the women to an interview and examination, was sent to all African women in the county of Osterg?tland. Women who gave their consent (n = 63) underwent a gynecologic examination. RESULTS: The response rate was 84%. According to the questionnaire, 68% of all the African women were genitally mutilated. The clinical examination revealed that 39 women (62%) were mutilated, 17 of them (44%) had undergone removal of part or all external genitalia and stitching ('infibulation'), 26% had undergone removal of the prepuce of the clitoris ('prepucectomy'), 23% had undergone various cultural practices on the external genitalia, and 7.7% excision of the clitoris with partial or total removal of labia minora ('clitoridectomy'). CONCLUSION: The influx of immigrants to Sweden and the other Scandinavian countries from cultures where FGM is practiced, requires that physicians and other health professionals familiarize themselves with the practice and the cultural beliefs underlying it. Sensitivity to the needs of these women as well as attention to the potential physical hazards posed by the practice are important factors in care.     

Adipose tissue concentrations of p,p'-DDE and the risk for endometrial cancer

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate in a case-control study possible risk of endometrial cancer associated with environmental endocrine disruptors. METHODS: We analyzed the adipose tissue concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE), chlordanes, and polybrominated biphenyls in 76 cases with endometrial cancer and 39 controls with benign endometrial hyperplasia. RESULTS: For the different chemicals, odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were close to unity taking the median concentration among the controls as cutoff value. However, for p,p'-DDE OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 0.8-4.8 was obtained. Additional estrogen replacement therapy yielded in this category OR = 2.3, 95% CI = 0.6-8.6. CONCLUSION: The results suggest an interaction between p,p'-DDE and estrogen replacement drugs in the etiology of endometrial cancer, although no significant associations were found.     

Implication of cervical enamel projection to furcation involvement in molars. A pilot clinical study

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation of cervical enamel projection (CEP) with furcation involvement (FI) and compare the healing response of molars with or without CEP after surgery. A total of 30 patients contributing 78 maxillary and mandibular first or second molars were included. Plaque Index (PII), Gingival Index (GI), probing pocket depth (PPD) and probing attachment level (PAL) were measured before surgery and 1 and 3 or 6 months postoperatively. During surgery, CEPs were identified and classified with a modified grading system from Masters & Hoskins (24). FI was measured horizontally from the buccal aspect into the furcation with a graduated probe to the nearest mm. Any measurement > or = 1 mm was considered as FI. CEPs were found in 33 molars (42%). Grade III CEPs were found in 14 teeth, Grade IIIb in 4 teeth, Grade II in 1 tooth and Grade I in 14 teeth. The results showed no significant correlation of CEP with FI. Nor was CEP significantly affecting the PPD and PAL 3 or 6 months after surgery. However, FI was a significant factor in the further loss of PAL after surgery. Further studies, involving larger sample size may be necessary in order to give more conclusive results.