Distribution of dental health behaviors in Nordic schoolchildren

The present study was part of the project "Health Behavior in Schoolchildren. A WHO Cross National Survey". The distribution of eight dental health behaviors among Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish schoolchildren aged 11, 13, and 15 yr was studied separately for boys and girls. The sample size approximated 3000 individuals for each country, and the samples are considered to be representative for whole countries. The distinction between individual and collective behavior was empirically supported in this study. Thus collective behaviors (supervised fluoride rinsing and distribution of fluoride tablets) did not vary according to sex but declined with increasing age. On the other hand, individual behaviors varied according to sex and tended to increase in frequency with increasing age. The levels of the studied dental health behaviors were different among the three countries. This may be related to country-specific preventive policies as well as social and cultural norms.     

Increased levels of serum miR‐148a‐3p are associated with prostate cancer

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common types of cancer and the fifth leading cause of death among men worldwide. The tools for diagnosing PCa have limited value, and to improve correct diagnosis there is a need for markers that can contribute to a more precise diagnosis, which would lead to proper treatment of only those patients who need it. Micro RNA (miRNA) plays a key role in the development of cancer and is therefore a potential marker for PCa. Next‐generation sequencing was used to discover differences in miRNA expression between serum samples from PCa patients and healthy controls, and the results were validated by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Detection of the miRNA of interest was attempted in prostate tissue by in situ hybridization. All samples were collected in collaboration with Biobank1^®. By miRNA sequencing of serum samples, significant expression of some miRNAs in patients with PCa and healthy controls was detected. This study showed that miR‐148a‐3p is upregulated in men with PCa, and the miRNA is differentially expressed in PCa patients compared to healthy controls. The results also showed that miR‐148a‐3p is located in prostate tissue.     

Strength training reduces freely chosen pedal rate during submaximal cycling

The freely chosen pedal rate is relatively high and energetically inefficient during submaximal cycling, which is a paradox since the rate of energy expenditure is considered important for voluntary motor behavior in other cyclical activities as, e.g., running. For example, it has been suggested that subjects pedal fast to reduce the perception of force. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that strength training would cause subjects to pedal at a slower rate during low to moderate submaximal cycling. Fourteen healthy subjects performed supervised heavy (2–12 RM) strength training 4 days/week for 12 weeks, including 2 days/week with leg-extensor and knee-flexor exercises. Seven healthy subjects formed the control group. The training group increased strength (one repetition maximum, 1 RM) in both squat [20%(3), mean (SEM)] and leg curl [12%(1)] exercises from the beginning to the end of the study period (p < 0.01). At the same time, freely chosen pedal rate was reduced by 8 (2) and 10 (2) rpm, respectively, during cycling at 37 and 57% of maximal power output (W _max) (p < 0.01). In addition, rate of energy expenditure is 3% (2) lower at 37% of W _max (p < 0.05) and tended to be lower at 57% W _max (p = 0.07) at the end of the study. Values for strength, freely chosen pedal rate, and rate of energy expenditure, were unchanged for the control group from the beginning to the end of the study. In conclusion, strength training caused subjects to choose a ∼9 rpm lower pedal rate during submaximal cycling. This was accompanied by a ∼3% lower rate of energy expenditure.     

Triglyceride lipases in acute hepatitis

Two triglyceride lipases in postheparin plasma, the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and the hepatic triglyceride lipase (H-TGL) were separated by heparin-sepharose affinity chromatography and studied in controls and patients during the course of acute hepatitis. All three patients had increased content of triglycerides in the low density lipoproteins, and two of them had hypertriglyceridemia.Low activities of both lipases were found in the acute stage of the disease in all three patients. Concomitantly one of the patients had absolute low lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) activity, and in the two other patients a relative LCAT deficiency was present.The increased content of triglycerides in LDL that may be found in liver disease, may not only be due to low H-TGL and LPL, but also to LCAT deficiency.     

Correction of postpneumonectomy syndrome in infants with saline-filled expandable prosthesis

We report two infants who underwent right pneumonectomy in infancy and developed postpneumonectomy syndrome with obstruction of the left main bronchus causing severe airway obstruction in one patient and gastrointestinal reflux due to a displaced and grossly dilated oesophagus in the other patient. Both patients were operated with implantation of an expandable breast prosthesis.     

Dosimetry of a 238Pu-based alpha-particle irradiator and its biological application in a study of the bystander effect

A better understanding of the non-targeted (bystander) effects of radiation may have important implications with regards to radiation risk assessment, radiation protection, and targeted cancer therapy. In the present study, the direct and bystander effects of α-particle irradiation in immortalized human fibroblasts (F11hTERT) and breast cancer cells (MCF-7) was investigated. To ensure a more accurate dose delivery to these different cell lines, an existing 238Pu α-particle irradiator was improved by the addition of a collimator and the development of an analytical equation for calculation of the radiation dose to cells. The mean dose rate and α-particle fluence were calculated for each cell line by taking into consideration the size of their nuclei. Bystander effect experiments were performed by transferring medium from irradiated to unirradiated cells and by measuring micronucleus formation in the cells. Both the immortalized human fibroblasts and the breast cancer cells displayed a bystander effect. In conclusion, the broad-beam α-particle irradiator improved in this study represents a useful tool in the investigation of direct and non-targeted effects of α-particle radiation.     

Relationship between sick leave, unemployment, disability, and health-related quality of life in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to determine the rate of work disability, unemployment, and sick leave in an unselected inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) cohort and to measure the effect of working status and disability on the patient's health-related quality of life (HRQOL). MATERIALS AND METHODS: All eligible patients were clinically examined and interviewed at the 5-year follow-up visit. In addition, they completed the 2 HRQOL questionnaires, the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) and the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire validated for use in Norway (N-IBDQ). Data regarding sick leave, unemployment, and disability pension (DP) also were collected. RESULTS: All together, 495 patients were or had been in the workforce during the 5-year follow-up period since diagnosis. Forty-two patients (8.5%) were on DP compared with 8.8% in the background population. Women with Crohn's disease (CD) had the highest probability of receiving DP (24.6%). A total of 58 patients (11.7%) reported they were unemployed at 5 years. This was equally distributed between men and women but was more frequent in patients with ulcerative colitis. Sick leave for all causes was reported in 47% with ulcerative colitis and 53% with CD, whereas IBD-related sick leave was reported in 18% and 23%, respectively. A majority (75%) had been sick <4 weeks, and a relatively small number of patients (25%) contributed to a large number of the total sick leave days. Both unemployment and DP reduced HRQOL scores, but the most pronounced effect on HRQOL was found in patients reporting IBD-related sick leave, measured with SF-36 and N-IBDQ. The observed differences also were highly clinically significant. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that IBD-related sick leave was the independent variable with the strongest association to the observed reduction in HRQOL scores. CONCLUSIONS: Unemployment or sick leave is more common in IBD patients than in the Norwegian background population. The number of patients receiving DP is significantly increased in women with CD but not in the other patient groups. Unemployment, sick leave, and DP are related to the patient's HRQOL in a negative way, but this effect is most pronounced in patients reporting IBD-related sick leave.     

Relative biologic effects of low-dose-rate alpha-emitting 227Th-rituximab and beta-emitting 90Y-tiuexetan-ibritumomab versus external beam X-radiation

PURPOSE: To determine the relative biologic effects (RBE) of alpha-particle radiation from 227Th-rituximab and of beta-radiation from 90Y-tiuexetan-ibritumomab (Zevalin) compared with external beam X-radiation in the Raji lymphoma xenograft model. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Radioimmunoconjugates were administered intravenously in nude mice with Raji lymphoma xenografts at different levels of activity. Absorbed dose to tumor was estimated by separate biodistribution experiments for 227Th-rituximab and Zevalin. Tumor growth was measured two to three times per week after injection or X-radiation. Treatment-induced increase in growth delay to reach tumor volumes of 500 and 1,000 mm3, respectively, was used as an end point. RESULTS: The absorbed radiation dose-rate in tumor was slightly more than 0.1 Gy/d for the first week following injection of 227Th-rituximab, and thereafter gradually decreased to 0.03 Gy/d at 21 days after injection. For treatment with Zevalin the maximum dose-rate in tumor was achieved already 6 h after injection (0.2 Gy/d), and thereafter decreased to 0.01 Gy/d after 7 days. The relative biologic effect was between 2.5 and 7.2 for 227Th-rituximab and between 1 and 1.3 for Zevalin. CONCLUSIONS: Both at low doses and low-dose-rates, the 227Th-rituximab treatment was more effective per absorbed radiation dose unit than the two other treatments. The considerable effect at low doses suggests that the best way to administer low-dose-rates, alpha-emitting radioimmunoconjugates is via multiple injections.