Musculoskeletal problems and driving in police officers

The Occupational Health Department of a rural police force inthe UK had concerns regarding sickness absence levels due tomusculoskeletal problems, particularly in officers who droveas part of their job. It was decided to conduct an interviewsurvey comparing two groups of police officers with differinglevels of exposure to driving, recording sickness absence andprevalence data related due to musculoskeletal troubles. Theresults indicate that exposure to car driving, both in termsof distance and hours driven, had a significant effect on self-reportedlow back trouble. Officers whose job mainly involved drivingalso experienced more low back trouble over the last 12 monthsthan those whose job primarily involved sitting (not driving),standing and lifting tasks. Police motorcyclists had significantlyhigher prevalence figures for reported shoulder trouble thanpolice car drivers.     

Primary Health Care through a community based smoking-cessation program

The International Conference on Primary Health Care, meeting in Alma-Ata, in the Soviet Union, September 12, 1978, expressed the need for urgent action by all governments, all health and development workers and the world community, to protect and promote the health of all people of the world. The world was caught by the phrase which emerged from this conference, Health For All by the Year 2000 and many have examined the articles of the Alma-Ata declaration and tried to implement them in their corner of the world. This paper describes a community-based smoking-cessation program which was implemented in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada, during the years 1980–1984. Primary to this project was the belief that people have the right and the duty to participate individually and collectively in planning and implementing their health care. This paper describes one community's effort in putting this belief into practice.Carol Smillie, B.N. BE.d. M.S.c. is an Assistant Professor at the School of Nursing, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 3J5, Katherine Coffin, BA, MEd is the Program Officer, Nova Scotia Office, Health Promotion Directorate Health and Welfare Canada, 5251 Duke Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Canada B3J 1P3. Kathryn Porter, B.A. (Gen)., is the Information and Education Coordinator, Nova Scotia Division Canadian Cancer Society. Brenda Ryan, B.A., M.B.A. is Program Evaluation Analysist, Nova Scotia Department of Health, 6088 Hollis Street, Halifax. Nova Scotia, Canada. This Project was funded by Health and Welfare Canada, Nova Scotia Department of Health, Nova Scotia Division Canadian Cancer Society, Requests for reprints should be addressed to: Professor Carol Smillie.     

Cell cycle synchronisation by 3-hydroxypyridin-4-one iron chelators

We describe a protocol for the synchronisation of normal and tumour cells grown in suspension cultures using 3-hydroxypyridin-4-one iron chelators. These compounds inhibit ribonucleotide reductase, one of the rate limiting enzymes in DNA synthesis, and so block the cell cycle in late G₁ phase. After removal of the chelator or repletion of cellular iron, cells progress through the cycle and remain synchronised for at least one full cell cycle. Cell viability is unaffected for at least 72 hours post-incubation and chelator treatment has no effect on RNA and protein synthesis. This method of synchronisation has been successful with all cell lines tested including normal and leukaemic human cell lines.     

A fractal analysis of pyramidal neurons in mammalian motor cortex.

Pyramidal neurons in the mammalian cerebral cortex can be described by a fractal dimension (Mandelbrot, 1982), which is an objective, quantitative measure of the complexity of their soma/dendritic borders. In the cat, the fractal dimensions of lamina V cells, which include pyramidal tract neurons (PTN), indicate that these cells are more complex than other pyramidal neurons (PN) in the same region of motor cortex. The lamina V cells of the cat are also more complex than those in motor cortex of the monkey. Moreover, lamina III neurons in the monkey are more complex than monkey lamina V neurons. The fractal dimension of the intracortical axon collateral arborizations of the same pyramidal neurons indicated, in all cases, that the branching of these terminals is less complex than the branching of the dendrites of the same cells. In line with the observation that the fractal dimensions of some homologous cellular populations are different in different species, it is suggested that the fractal dimension and the degree of morphological complexity may relate to the requirement for the number of separable functions to be accommodated within one neuron. For example, as the size of the cortex and the number of neurons in a region increase, the opportunity exists within a given cortical zone, for individual functions to be segregated and for functional specialization to be accommodated with less morphological complexity of the individual neurons performing each of these functions.     

Pathogenesis of aleutian disease of mink: identification of nonpersistent infections.

Aleutian disease virus usually produces a persistent infection and progressive immune comples disease in mink of the Aleutian genotype. Study of Aleutian disease virus infection in non-Aleutian mink showed that about one-quarter developed nonpersistent infections by the virus, and that the nonpersistence was not genetically determined by the host. The nonpersistently infected mink developed only a transient elevation of serum gamma globulin, and much lower specific Aleutian disease virus antibody titers than persistently infected mink. No lesions were found in the nonpersistently infected mink.     

Androgen receptor YAC transgenic mice carrying CAG 45 alleles show trinucleotide repeat instability

X-linked spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA) is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the first exon of the androgen receptor (AR) gene. Disease-associated alleles (37-66 CAGs) change in length when transmitted from parents to offspring, with a significantly greater tendency to shift size when inherited paternally. As transgenic mice carrying human AR cDNAs with 45 and 66 CAG repeats do not display repeat instability, we attempted to model trinucleotide repeat instability by generating transgenic mice with yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs) carrying AR CAG repeat expansions in their genomic context. Studies of independent lines of AR YAC transgenic mice with CAG 45 alleles reveal intergenerational instability at an overall rate of approximately 10%. We also find that the 45 CAG repeat tracts are significantly more unstable with maternal transmission and as the transmitting mother ages. Of all the CAG/CTG repeat transgenic mice produced to date the AR YAC CAG 45 mice are unstable with the smallest trinucleotide repeat mutations, suggesting that the length threshold for repeat instability in the mouse may be lowered by including the appropriate flanking human DNA sequences. By sequence-tagged site content analysis and long range mapping we determined that one unstable transgenic line has integrated an approximately 70 kb segment of the AR locus due to fragmentation of the AR YAC. Identification of the cis - acting elements that permit CAG tract instability and the trans -acting factors that modulate repeat instability in the AR YAC CAG 45 mice may provide insights into the molecular basis of trinucleotide repeat instability in humans.      

Utilization review of the use of BACTEC PLUS high-volume blood culture bottles.

The BACTEC PLUS 26 (NR26) (Becton Dickinson, Towson, Md.) high-volume blood culture bottle replaced the less expensive smaller-volume NR6A bottle in our hospital. An audit carried out several months after their introduction revealed that only 17.5% of the NR26 bottles received the required blood volume. Several audits and educational programs were required in order to achieve a compliance rate of > 60%.     

Moredun Bordetella Medium, an improved selective medium for isolation of Bordetella parapertussis.

Bordetella parapertussis, previously thought to be an obligate human respiratory tract pathogen, has been isolated from sheep. Attempts to assess the prevalence of B. parapertussis in conventionally reared sheep by nasal swabbing proved futile with existing selective media because of extensive overgrowth with Mucor spp. and other nasal commensals. Moredun Bordetella Medium (MBM), which contains cycloheximide and spectinomycin at final concentrations of 0.5 mg/ml and 100 mu g/ml, respectively, was developed as an improved selective medium to isolate B. parapertussis from the nasal cavities of conventionally reared sheep. The selective ability of MBM was evaluated with 200 nasal swabs from conventionally reared sheep, and B. parapertussis was recovered from 31.5% of the samples. MBM facilitated the simple and effective isolation of B. parapertussis from ovine nasal swabs and, in successfully excluding overgrowth with other contaminants, proved superior to other test formulations evaluated and to existing conventional media.