Search for coloured objects in natural surroundings by people with abnormal colour vision

Background: People with abnormal colour vision often report difficulty seeing coloured berries and flowers in foliage, which suggests they will have a diminished capacity for visual search when target objects are marked out by colour. There is very little experimental evidence of the effect of abnormal colour vision on visual search and none relating to search for objects in natural foliage. Method: We showed 79 subjects with abnormal colour vision (seven protanopes, 10 deuteranopes, 16 protanomals and 46 deuteranomals) and 20 subjects with normal colour vision photographs of natural scenes and asked them to locate clumps of red berries, to trace the length of a red string on grass and to name the season depicted in a photograph taken in the Autumn and the same scene photographed in the Summer. Colour vision was assessed using the Ishihara, the Medmont C100, the Farnsworth D15, the Richmond HRR and the Nagel anomaloscope. Results: All the subjects with abnormal colour vision located fewer clumps of red berries than those with normal colour vision. The subjects who failed the Farnsworth D15 performed significantly worse than those who passed but the distribution of scores in the two groups overlaps. The majority of subjects with abnormal colour vision could not trace the full length of the string: only 38 per cent of anomalous trichromats who passed the Farnsworth D15 test and three per cent of those who failed it were able to trace the full length of the string. Fifty‐five per cent of those classed as having a mild deficiency by the HRR test could trace the whole string. Most dichromats were unable to identify the Autumn season and those who did may have been assisted by guessing. Most (94 per cent) of those who passed the Farnsworth D15 test and all those classified as having a ‘mild’ deficiency by the HRR test could identify the season. Conclusions: All people with abnormal colour vision, even those with a very mild deficiency, have some degree of impairment of their ability to see coloured objects in natural surroundings. A pass at the Farnsworth D15 test or a ‘mild’ classification with the Richmond HRR test identifies those likely to have the least problems with visual search and identification tasks. The results have practical implications for the selection of personnel in occupations that involve visual search in natural terrain.     

Hong Kong nurses' health-related behaviours: implications for nurses' role in health promotion

The health-related behaviours of a random sample (n=92) of Hong Kong nurses were assessed by a questionnaire written either in English or in English and Chinese. Hong Kong nurse reported negligible smoking or a alcohol use, low levels of breast self-examination, cervical screening behaviour and regular exercising, seat belt use and driving within the speed limit. The sample reported high levels of making efforts to avoid foods high in cholesterol, eating foods high in fibre and eating fruit daily. Dental hygiene was reported to be high. Just over half the sample reported sleeping 7–8 hours each night and eating breakfast daily. Most nurse reported maintaining their body weight at a healthy level and eating snacks between meals. The English language version of the questionnaire produced a slightly better response rate than the bilingual questionnaires. The results are discussed with reference to previous studies of females' health-related behaviours in Hong Kong and elsewhere. The implications for Hong Kong nurses' role in health promotion is discussed.     

Epinephrine reduces the sedative side effects of epidural sufentanil for labour analgesia

PURPOSE: The use of opioids in labour analgesia has primarily been as an adjuvant to local anesthetics. For early labour, satisfactory analgesia with epidural sufentanil alone is possible. This study evaluates the impact of epinephrine on sedative side effects and analgesia related to the latter technique. METHODS: After Institutional Review Board approval and informed consent this prospective, randomized, double-blind study evaluated 43 nulliparous subjects requesting epidural analgesia. The study site, a tertiary care obstetric unit, accommodates 3500-4500 deliveries annually. Group selection was randomized and blinded by selection of a sealed envelope containing a number which corresponded to a premixed labelled syringe of saline or epinephrine (100 microg/mL). An epidural catheter was placed in a standardized fashion. All subjects received 40 microg of sufentanil and 0.5 mL from the premixed syringe, diluted to 10 mL with NaCl. A blinded observer collected data on maternal sedation, lightheadedness, hemodynamics, oxygenation, and fetal heart rate over a one-hour period following sufentanil injection. RESULTS: The addition of epinephrine significantly (P <0.05) reduced the incidence of sedation and lightheadedness after epidural sufentanil at all data collection points, except two. Analgesic duration was also significantly prolonged by this addition (120 +/- 56 vs 84 +/- 32 min). Maternal satisfaction was high regardless of solution. CONCLUSION: Forty micrograms of epidural sufentanil produces satisfactory analgesia in early labour. The addition of epinephrine improves the side effect profile of this technique while prolonging the duration of analgesia. Epidural sufentanil requires attention to maternal monitoring of oxygenation as maternal desaturation occurred in both groups.     

Neuropathy in igMλ paraproteinemia

Summary In axonal neuropathies associated with IgM paraproteinemia, reports of antigen specificity of the M-protein are few. A patient with IgM paraproteinemia presented with progressive mononeuritis multiplex. IgM was found deposited in striking amounts in endoneurium and shown to bind specifically to neural proteins and chondroitin sulfates. Direct immune mechanisms, as well as the physical effects of IgM deposition, likely contributed to the development of the neuropathy.     

Noise in polymer gel measurements using MRI

With the development of conformal radiotherapy, particularly intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), there is a clear need for multidimensional dosimeters. A commercial polymerizing gel, BANG-2 gel (MGS Research, Inc., Guilford, CT), has recently been developed that shows potential as a multi-dimensional dosimeter. This study investigates and characterizes the noise and magnetic resonance (MR) artifacts from imaging BANG-2 gels. Seven cylindrical vials (4 cm diam, 20 cm length) were irradiated end on in a water bath and read using MRI (B0=1.5 T, TE=20 ms/100 ms, TR=3000 ms). The gel calibration compared the measured depth-dose distributions in water against the change in solvent-proton R2 relaxivity of the gel. A larger vial (13 cm diam, 14 cm length) was also irradiated to test the calibration accuracy in a vial of sufficient volume for dose distribution measurements. The calibration curve proved accurate to within 1.3% in determining the depth dose measured by the larger vial. An investigation of the voxel-to-voxel (IXIX 3 mm3) noise and sensitivity response curve showed that the voxel-to-voxel variation dominated the dose measurement uncertainty. The voxel-to-voxel standard deviation ranged from 0.2 Gy for the unirradiated gel to 0.7 Gy at 20 Gy. Slice-to-slice R2 magnitude deviations were also observed corresponding to 0.2 Gy. These variations limited the overall accuracy of the gel dose measurements and warrant an investigation of more accurate MR readout sequences.     

Functional uncoupling of MCM helicase and DNA polymerase activities activates the ATR-dependent checkpoint

The ATR-dependent DNA damage response pathway can respond to a diverse group of lesions as well as inhibitors of DNA replication. Using the Xenopus egg extract system, we show that lesions induced by UV irradiation and cis-platinum cause the functional uncoupling of MCM helicase and DNA polymerase activities, an event previously shown for aphidicolin. Inhibition of uncoupling during elongation with inhibitors of MCM7 or Cdc45, a putative helicase cofactor, results in abrogation of Chk1 phosphorylation, indicating that uncoupling is necessary for activation of the checkpoint. However, uncoupling is not sufficient for checkpoint activation, and DNA synthesis by Polalpha is also required. Finally, using plasmids of varying size, we demonstrate that all of the unwound DNA generated at a stalled replication fork can contribute to the level of Chk1 phosphorylation, suggesting that uncoupling amplifies checkpoint signaling at each individual replication fork. Taken together, these observations indicate that functional uncoupling of MCM helicase and DNA polymerase activities occurs in response to multiple forms of DNA damage and that there is a general mechanism for generation of the checkpoint-activating signal following DNA damage.     

Molecular subtyping of Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139 by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis in Hong Kong: correlation with epidemiological events from 1994 to 2002

Two hundred twenty isolates of Vibrio cholerae O1 and O139 collected from 1994 to 2002 in Hong Kong were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Chromosomal DNAs from all V. cholerae isolates in agarose plugs were digested with the restriction enzyme NotI, resulting in 20 to 27 bands. Sixty distinctive PFGE patterns in the range of 10 to 300 kb were noted among 213 isolates typeable by PFGE. By comparing the common PFGE patterns obtained from four well-defined outbreaks of V. cholerae O1 and O139 with those obtained from other, epidemiologically unrelated isolates during the study period, indistinguishable and similar PFGE patterns were identified, indicating their close relatedness, in agreement with the results of epidemiological investigations. Heterogeneous PFGE patterns (with four to six banding differences), however, were identified among strains that were imported from other parts of Asia, including Indonesia, India, and Pakistan. Correlations with epidemiological information further support the usefulness of PFGE as an epidemiological tool in laboratory investigations of suspected outbreaks. Standardization of PFGE methodology will allow international comparison of fingerprint patterns and will form the basis of a laboratory network for tracking V. cholerae.     

Linkage studies in spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA)

Data are now available on 9 pedigrees in detail and 4 pedigrees as lod scores only. Linkage to HLA is significant (? = 5.53 at recombination rates of 0.223 in males and 0.327 in females). Tight linkage is excluded. Nine pedigrees which appear to be typical olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA I) have recombination rates of 0.150 in males and 0.300 in females. The remaining 4 pedigrees are clinically atypical or include discrepant data and give no evidence for linkage. The symbol SCA1 is proposed for a locus on chromosome 6 (loosely linked to HLA), at which at least one allele produces OPCA I (Menzel type). It is not yet clear whether other clinical types are determined by alleles at different loci, although this is suggested by several pedigrees, including a Danish pedigree of OPCA with dementia. Linkage evidence will be decisive in delineating the ataxias.