The association between psychosocial characteristics at work and problem drinking: a cross-sectional study of men in three Eastern European urban populations

Background: Psychosocial factors at work are thought to influence health partly through health behaviours. Aims: To examine the association between effort-reward imbalance and job control and several alcohol related measures in three eastern European populations. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Novosibirsk (Russia), Krakow (Poland), and Karvina (Czech Republic). The participants completed a questionnaire that included effort-reward at work, job control, and a number of sociodemographic variables. Annual alcohol intake, annual number of drinking sessions, the mean dose of alcohol per drinking session, and binge drinking (⩾80 g of ethanol in one session at least once a week) were based on graduated frequencies in the questionnaire. Data were also available on problem drinking (⩾2 positive answers on CAGE questionnaire) and negative social consequences of drinking. All male participants in full employment (n = 694) were included in the present analyses. Results: After controlling for age and centre, all indices of alcohol consumption and problem drinking were associated with the effort-reward ratio. Adjustment for material deprivation did not change the results but adjustment for depressive symptoms reduced the estimated effects. Job control was not associated with any of the alcohol related outcomes. Conclusions: The imbalance of effort-reward at work is associated with increased alcohol intake and problem drinking. The association appears to be partly mediated by depressive symptoms, which might be either an antecedent or a consequence of men''s drinking behaviour.     

The vanishing gender?

The literature data indicating a significant impairment of the basic parameters of male reproductive function in the last decades are analyzed and summarized. This impairment is expressed in the reduction of spermatogenic activity, increased incidence of genital malformations and testicular tumors. The listed changes are reviewed in comparative aspect and include examples of some species of wild animals. The data on the factors responsible for occurrence of pathological changes in male reproductive system are analyzed.     

Relationship between various clinical parameters and duration and variability of Q-T and R-R intervals in ECG (an epidemiological population study)

AIM: To study the relationship between clinical values of a standard epidemiological study of a male population and the length and variability of Q-T and R-R intervals. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A representative sampling from a male population (2184 subjects aged 25-64 years) in Novosibirsk was examined using standard epidemiological methods. Later 251 men were excluded from the study because of impossibility of correct analysis of ECG. The length and dispersion of Q-T interval and time parameters of variability of R-R interval were evaluated. RESULTS: The size and variability of Q-T and R-R intervals are associated with age and AP irrespective of other clinical parameters of a simultaneous epidemiological study. The length of R-R interval is independently related to body weight index, tobacco smoking, and plasma triglyceride level. R-R variability parameters are associated with coronary disease irrespective of the risk factors. CONCLUSION: Scanning studies with complex analysis of Q-T and R-R interval duration and variability effectively detect subjects at a high risk of arrhythmias and fatal events.     

Selective Effects of an NMDA Glutamate Receptor Antagonist on the Sensory Input from Chemoreceptors in the Snail's Head during Acquisition of Nociceptive Sensitization

Experiments on semi-intact preparations from common snails were used to study the characteristics of the actions of MK-801, an antagonist of NMDA glutamate receptors, on the plasticity of various sensory inputs to defensive behavior command neurons LPl1 and RPl1 during acquisition of nociceptive sensitization. Application of sensitizing stimuli to the head or foot of control snails led to depression of neuron responses to tactile and chemical sensory stimulation during the short-term stage and marked facilitation of these responses during the long-term stage of sensitization. Application of sensitizing stimuli to the snail's head during administration of MK-801 led to marked depression of responses to chemical stimulation of the head in both the short-term and long-term stages of sensitization. In addition, blockade of NMDA receptors during application of sensitizing stimuli to the foot or head had no effect on changes in neuron responses elicited by chemical stimulation of the snail's foot and by tactile stimulation of the foot or head. It is suggested that NMDA-like glutamate receptors are selectively involved in the mechanism of induction of plasticity of synaptic inputs to command neurons LPl1 and RPl1, excited by chemical sensory stimulation of the head – a skin receptor zone specific for these neurons.     

Ecological factors that influence the dynamics of the total store of Daursk suslik fleas in the Transbaikal natural focus of plague

Based on 20-year (1967-1987) studies of the dynamic of the total store of the imago of Daursk souslik fleas in the Transbaikal natural focus of plague and of changes in the abiotic and biotic parameters of the environment, the authors have identified factors that statistically significantly influence the study processes. The analysis was made by the nonlinear multiple regression test. One to three predictors of flea abundance have been detected for each month from May to April inclusive.