A LOW-SAMPLE-CONSUMPTION DRY-PARTICULATE AEROSOL GENERATOR FOR USE IN NOSE-ONLY INHALATION EXPOSURES

Generation of stable, low concentrations of dry particulates in nose-only chambers can be difficult, and if the supply of particulate is limited, the problems can be greatly increased. One problem is that many dry-particulate aerosol generators have higher aerosol output or airflow than can be accommodated by a nose-only inhalation chamber, requiring much of the aerosol generated to be diverted to waste. Another problem is that mixing vessels used to modulate the fluctuating output from aerosol generators can cause substantial wall losses, consuming much of the aerosol generated. To overcome these problems, a low-consumption dry-particulate aerosol generator was designed to deliver stable concentrations in the range of 1-50 mg/m 3 to a nose-only chamber without the need for diverting any of the generator output. The generator air flow of 10-15 L/min supplies all the air to the exposure chamber, with a 6-h exposure at 10-15 mg/m 3 consuming as little as 200-300 mg of particulate. The generator uses the principle of a carpenter's chalk line to pick up particles from a small reservoir, carry them out through an orifice, and past an air jet, where the particles are blown off the string.     

Healthcare provider knowledge,attitudes and practices in patients on the Victorian Spleen Registry

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and practices of healthcare providers regarding asplenic patients and to assess their satisfaction with the Victorian Spleen Registry (VSR) service. Methods: Survey forms were sent to 992 healthcare providers listed as caring for at least one patient registered on the VSR. Results: A total of 223 completed questionnaires were returned. Healthcare providers heard about the VSR mainly from another healthcare professional or through a healthcare institution (31.7%), via online or printed resources (30.8%) or from their patients (24.4%). Most respondents valued the work of the VSR in providing information to healthcare professionals (71.4%), providing a reminder service for vaccinations (66.7%) and providing education to patients (60.5%). Most of those surveyed correctly identified high‐risk infections for asplenic and hyposplenic patients with encapsulated organisms, but less than one‐third identified a risk with malarial infections (32.9%). Providers always recommended influenza vaccinations, emergency standby antibiotics and an alert medallion or card in 92.8%, 63.6% and 36.4% of cases, respectively. Conclusions: Healthcare providers value and are satisfied with the service provided by the VSR. Patients can play a valuable role in communicating with their health providers. This survey may have been of value to healthcare providers by heightening awareness of the VSR website as well as knowledge of the registry. Implications: The results positively reflect the functioning of the VSR, although better promotion of the VSR among healthcare professionals and consideration of expansion is needed.     

Subsistence agriculture and child growth in Papua New Guinea

Spatial statistical analyses of child anthropometric data were undertaken to assess the influence of systems of subsistence agriculture, in terms of staple foods and cash crops cultivated, on patterns of child growth in Papua New Guinea. These agricultural data explained between a quarter and half of the geographical variation in anthropometric growth indicators. Accounting for differences in altitude, relief and rainfall patterns, though explaining additional geographical variation, did not improve the predictions. Child growth was better in agriculture systems with cassava and sweet potato as staple crops, but worse in systems where banana, sago and taro were staple crops. Both the cultivation of all major cash crops, and sales of fish and food crops improved child growth. More intensive agricultural systems were associated with larger children indicating that the nutritional status of children benefited from intensification as well as from the introduction of cash crops into traditional subsistence systems.     

Adulthood Relocation: Implications for Personality,Future Orientation,and Social Partner Choices

The purpose of this study was to learn the reasons why individuals relocate and whether relocaters differ from nonrelocaters on demographic, social, and personality factors. One hundred participants from three age groups, 34 to 46 (young/middle-aged), 54 to 66 (young-old), and 69 to 93 (older) years, were designated as relocaters or residents as a function of months of residence. Relocaters did not differ from residents in age, income, health, or marital status. Reasons provided for relocating revealed the following differences: young/middle-aged moved for employ ment reasons, young-old moved for reasons of retirement, and older adults relocated to be closer to family members. No differences in network size occurred and older relocaters selected more cards in a social partner selection task. Most interesting was the finding that relocaters scored higher on Openness to Experience and future orientation. These data suggest personality may be an important trait that explains why some individuals are more likely to relocate.     

Low-level Irradiation

Purpose : To determine whether there is an association between dermal fibroblast differentiation characteristics in vitro and breast fibrosis developing in patients following radiotherapy for breast cancer. Materials and methods : Three hundred and eighty-five patients had been characterized for the degree of breast fibrosis and the level of clinical risk factors for fibrosis as established by logistic regression. Early-passage fibroblasts from 79 patients with a high (HR) or low (LR) level of risk factors were studied in vitro. The percentage differentiated cells (%DC) 7 days after 0 and 8 Gy was scored, and unirradiated colonies were scored for the ratio of early:late fibroblast differentiation stages (E:L ratio). Results : %DC: For the 0 Gy data there was a significant interpatient variation (CoV=55%, p=0.0001). HR patients with breast fibrosis had a higher %DC compared with patients without (p =0.017). E:L ratio: for HR patients there was a significant interpatient variation (82%, p =0.0030) and a lower E:L ratio for patients with fibrosis compared with those without (p =0.086), but for LR patients this relationship was reversed (p =0.079) Conclusions : There was a true interpatient variation in the in vitro parameters of fibroblast differentiation but insufficient correlation with observed fibrosis after radiotherapy for use as a predictive test.