Study of autogenous transposed ossicles,bone and cartilage in man

Study was made of 28 ossicles from 22 ears with chronic otitis, 12 autogenous transposed ossicles removed after varying periods of time, normal and 4 transplanted pieces of bone, and normal and 2 transplanted pieces of cartilage. The transposed ossicles were found to be dead, apart from certain special instances, showing pathology similar to non-transposed ossicles. Transplanted bone was also dead. Cartilage was vital. These autogenous transplants showed no evidence of rejection and less chronic inflammation than would be anticipated. It is suggested that autogenous ossicular or bone transplants in man act as inert but not rejected implants, while cartilage may remain viable.     

WOMEN ALCOHOLICS--SOCIAL, DEMOGRAPHIC AND CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS IN A BRAZILIAN SAMPLE

We compared 115 female and 115 male Brazilian alcoholics interms of their social and demographic characteristics, as wellas other characteristics associated with alcohol consumption.Women both began drinking and increased their consumption laterthan men. The incidence of attempted suicide was higher amongwomen. Females used less illicit drugs. Male alcoholics weremore frequently born in the city of Säo Paulo. As for adherenceto treatment in an out-patient clinic, no significant differenceswere found between the sexes 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after initiationof treatment.     

The rat testis produces large amounts of an interleukin-1-like factor

Homogenates of whole testis, isolated seminiferous tubules, testicular cytosol, conditioned media from seminiferous tubules obtained from intact or cryptorchid rats, as well as seminiferous tubules devoid of peritubular cells, showed high concentrations of interleukin-1 (IL-1). Cytosol from spleen showed low IL-1 activity, while no activity was found in cytosol from heart, kidney, prostate, ovary or liver. Interleukin-1 activity was not detected in spent medium from cultures of immature Sertoli cells (10-day-old rats) or from peritubular cells or in homogenates of interstitial cells from adult rats. Ultrogel AcA 44 gel chromatography and HPLC size exclusion chromatography exhibited a single peak of IL-1 activity corresponding to a relative molecular mass of 17,000-20,000 (Mr = 17-20 K). Similarly, chromatofocusing revealed only one peak of activity with an apparent isoelectric point of 5-6. It is concluded that the rat testis contains large amounts of an IL-1 alpha-like factor. The adult Sertoli cell or possibly germ cells are suggested as its primary source. Testicular IL-1-like activity is of particular interest in view of the intense cell proliferation during spermatogenesis, and the tendency to testicular relapse of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.     

Invasion of veins by carcinoma of rectum: method of detection, histological features and significance

Histopathological material from operation specimens of rectal adenocarcinoma was reviewed and invasion of veins identified in 51.9% of 703 cases. The extent of venous invasion, thickness of the walls of invaded veins and various other histological features were examined in detail. By follow-up studies recurrence rates, incidence of distant metastases and corrected 5-year survival rates were obtained; correlation with the histopathological results showed that invasion of extramural and thick-walled veins is associated with a poor prognosis independent of the degree of differentiation of the adenocarcinoma. Prognosis is not significantly related to the presence of necrosis of intravenous growth. Aneurysmal distension and inflammatory damage of the walls of invaded veins, a thrombus cap or endothelial cell mantle covering intravenous tumour and a clearly defined stroma in the intravenous growth all appear to exert a protective influence on patient survival, whereas permeation of capillaries in vein walls, the presence of loose clumps of tumour cells in veins and direct contact between tumour cells and venous blood appear to adversely affect survival. Venous invasion is shown to be related to local invasiveness of rectal carcinoma. Suggested modes of venous spread and interaction with host tissues are proposed, with implications for general attitudes to the spread of cancer and metastasis.     

Effects of Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether (EGME) on Mating Performance and Epididymal Sperm Parameters in F344 Rats

Effects of Ethylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether (EGME) on MatingPerformance and Epididymal Sperm Parameters in F344 Rats. CHAPIN,R. E., DUTTON, S. L., ROSS, M. D., and LAMB, J. C, IV. (1985).Fundam. Appl. Toxicol. 5, 182–189. Previous histologicstudies on the effects of EGME identified dividing spermatocytesas a primary target cell type in the testis. The following studieswere undertaken to assess possible effects of EGME on late-stageand epididymal spermatids, and spermatogonia. Adult male F344rats (n = 20/group) of proven fertility were dosed po with 0,50, 100, or 200 mg EGME/kg/day for 5 days. Each male was thenmated with two females/week for 8 weeks. Females were sacrificedca. 2 weeks after removal from the male, and number of liveand dead fetuses, resorption sites, and corpora lutea were noted.Additional males were treated similarly, sacrificed at weeklyintervals, and measures of epididymal sperm count, motility,and morphology were made. The fertility of males treated with200 mg EGME/kg declined at Week 4, and remained low for therest of the study. There was a modest but significant increasein the number of resorption sites at Weeks 5 and 6 in the highdose group. There was a decrease in the number of Utters siredat Week 5 after dosing in the 100-mg EGME/kg group. There weretime- and dose-related decreases in sperm concentration andmotility, primarily in the 100- and 200-mg/kg groups, as wellas concurrent elevations in the number of abnormal sperm formsin the epididymis. These studies show that EGME is a very weakinducer of dominant–lethal mutations, and produces previouslyundescribed effects on late-stage spermatids and spermatogonia.     

Report of Three Cases with Tricho-Rhino-Phalangeal Syndrome Type I (Two Cases) and Type II (One Case)

Phenotypical and radiologic features of two unrelated patients with the syndrome Tricho- Rhino-Phalangeal syndrome type I (TRP I) and one with the syndrome TRP I1 are reported. All three cases were sporadic and the parents were non-consanguineous. The interstitial deletion of the chromosome 8q, evaluated on pro-. metaphases chromosomes, was not observed in any of the patients.     

Cold periods and coronary events: an analysis of populations worldwide

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between cold periods and coronary events, and the extent to which climate, sex, age, and previous cardiac history increase risk during cold weather. DESIGN: A hierarchical analyses of populations from the World Health Organisation's MONICA project. SETTING: Twenty four populations from the WHO's MONICA project, a 21 country register made between 1980 and 1995. PATIENTS: People aged 35-64 years who had a coronary event. MAIN RESULTS: Daily rates of coronary events were correlated with the average temperature over the current and previous three days. In cold periods, coronary event rates increased more in populations living in warm climates than in populations living in cold climates, where the increases were slight. The increase was greater in women than in men, especially in warm climates. On average, the odds for women having an event in the cold periods were 1.07 higher than the odds for men (95% posterior interval: 1.03 to 1.11). The effects of cold periods were similar in those with and without a history of a previous myocardial infarction. CONCLUSIONS: Rates of coronary events increased during comparatively cold periods, especially in warm climates. The smaller increases in colder climates suggest that some events in warmer climates are preventable. It is suggested that people living in warm climates, particularly women, should keep warm on cold days.     

Temporal changes and determinants of smoking habits with respect to prevention

Smoking habits are seen as one of the most important risk factors in developed countries for the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and as the major single cause of premature death. The present study analysed smoking habits in participants of the MONICA-Surveys S1 (1984/85), S2 (1989/90) and S3 (1994/95) concerning prevalence, associated factors, time trends and preventive consequences. An essential aim of these studies was to identify risk groups, that should be addressed in prevention campaigns leading to a reduction of the high mortality due to cardiovascular diseases. The participants of the MONICA-Survey S3 (1994/95) had lower proportions of smokers (31.2 % for men and 22.0 % for women) as compared to estimated proportions of the entire German population (National health survey 1998: 37.4 % und 29.9 %). Women had always a lower proportion of smokers than men in each age group or sociodemographic factor. Strong associations of smoking habits with educational levels, family status and occupational position were observed for men and women. A positive time trend with decreasing smoking prevalence was determined for men. In contrast, an increase in the prevalence of female smokers was observed. The intention to change smoking habits was associated with different factors in men and women. For men, mainly "external" factors like social status or physical activity were important. Women seemed to be more influenced by "internal" matters (somatic complaints, negative self-rated health). Sex-, age- and educational status-specific activities and recommendations are considered to be essential for targeting different person groups in a more focused way.     

KORA-gen--resource for population genetics, controls and a broad spectrum of disease phenotypes

KORA-gen is a resource for genetic epidemiological research, based on the KORA platform (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg). Biosamples and phenotypic characteristics as well as environmental parameters of 18,000 adults from Augsburg and the surrounding counties are available. The age range of the participants was 25 to 74 years of recruitment and is 30 to 90 years in 2005. KORA-gen can be used by external partners. Interested parties can inform themselves interactively via internet about the available data and the rules of access. The genotypic data base is a common resource of all partners.