The role of oxidative stress in the prolonged inhibitory effect of ultrafine carbon black on epithelial cell function

Respired ultrafine particles induce a greater inflammation in rat lungs than fine particles; we have hypothesized that this is due to their comparatively huge number and surface area for the production of free radicals. We tested this hypothesis by studying the effects of fine and ultrafine (uf) carbon black (CB) particles in comparison with quartz on A549 human type II alveolar epithelial cells, particularly with respect to the oxidative properties of these particles. Treatment with fine CB (diameter 260 nm), and quartz (up to 0.78 μg/mm²) for 24 hours significantly (P<0.05) decreased the A549 cells metabolic competence, as measured by the ability to reduce MTT to a formazan product. The inhibitory effects of uf CB only became significantly different (P<0.05) relative to the control at 48 hours, by which time the effects of fine CB and quartz were no longer significant. The inhibition of MTT reduction by uf CB was prevented by the hydroxyl radical scavenger mannitol (2 m ). In addition, measurement of reactive oxygen species production using supercoiled plasmid DNA showed that uf CB exhibited significantly more free radical activity than fine CB (P<0.05). In the absence of serum, uf CB depleted reduced glutathione at 6 hours (P<0.008). In contrast, CB did not significantly alter reduced or oxidized glutathione. Hence, compared with fine CB, uf CB exhibited greater free radical activity, greater inhibition of the reduction of MTT at 48 hours (prevented by mannitol) and a depletion of reduced glutathione. These results suggest that uf CB induces a greater oxidative stress than fine CB, and that this may play a role in the toxicological effects of this ultrafine particle.     

Separation experiences in childhood and adult marital quality

A relational model of the influence of childhood relationships on adult marital quality is proposed and tested in a family medical centre and a psychiatric outpatient population by a questionnaire of separation experiences, the Parental Bonding Instrument and the Locke-Wallace Short Marital Adjustment Test. This paper presents results from a psychiatric outpatient population that correspond with previously reported results on the family medical centre patients. The paper also presents data from both populations on the association of childhood separation experiences with adult marital quality. The presence or absence of self-reported childhood separation experiences was not associated with variations of marital quality in either population. The variation in other aspects of separation experiences similarly was not associated with marital quality. The association between representations of childhood experience and adult marital quality, found in a previous study of the family medical centre patients, was not found in the psychiatric outpatient population. The possible reasons for these findings are discussed.     

Characterization of high specific activity [16 alpha-123I]Iodo-17 beta-estradiol as an estrogen receptor-specific radioligand capable of imaging estrogen receptor-positive tumors

16 alpha-[123I]Iodo-17 beta-estradiol (16 alpha-[123I]E2) has been characterized for use as a selective radioligand for estrogen receptor (ERc) that is capable of generating in situ images of ERc-positive tumors. High specific activity 16 alpha-[123I]E2 (7,500-10,000 Ci/mmol) was used in all determinations. Radiochemical purity was determined by thin layer chromatography, and the selectivity of radioligand for ERc was evaluated using size exclusion high performance liquid chromatography on ERc prepared from rodent uteri. Efficiencies of radioidination approaching 100% were achieved, and excellent receptor selectivity was obtained even when the efficiency of radioiodination was as low as 10%. Low radiochemical purity was always associated with poor selectivity for ERc. No new radioligand species was generated during the course of radiodecay; however, reduced binding over time, even when increased activity was used to compensate for radiodecay, indicated that the formation of a radioinert competitor does occur. 16 alpha-[123I]E2 demonstrated stable, high affinity binding to ERc and was concentrated by ERc-positive tissues. After injecting 16 alpha-[123I]E2 in vivo, images of ERc-containing tissues were obtained, including rabbit reproductive tract and dimethylbenzanthracene-induced tumors. The demonstrations of ERc selectivity and image formation both indicate that 16 alpha-[123I]E2 should have promise as a useful new radiopharmaceutical for imaging ERc-positive cancers.     

Psychiatrists' experience of suicide in their patients

Ninety-nine psychiatrists from a defined geographical area were sent a questionnaire asking them to report on clinical, social and demographic characteristics of patients who suicided while under their care. Seventy-three psychiatrists returned the questionnaire and reported having seen a total of 122 suicides. This resulted in a mean of 0.12 suicides per psychiatrist per year of practice. Twenty-four percent of the patients were reported to have had a diagnosis of schizophrenia which is significantly higher than in studies based on coroner's cases. Evidence of withdrawal, considering oneself a burden to others and help negation are factors that had frequently been present in the month prior to the suicide. The authors recommend that these three factors should be examined further by using a prospective strategy.     

Caveat emptor or blissful ignorance? Patients and the consumerist ethos

The notion that consumerist behaviour is, or should be, prevalent amongst individuals seeking health care has underlain recent United States and British governmental policy directives. Consumer groups make similar assumptions when exhorting individuals to treat health care like any other service. This paper enquires to what extent patients conceive of themselves and others as adopting consumerist behaviour when seeking and evaluating primary health care. Three hundred and thirty-three patients attending general practices in Sydney, Australia, were asked in open-ended questions to state why they chose their regular doctor, why they continued to visit that doctor, if they had ever changed their doctor, if they thought most people could tell if a doctor were good or bad, and what qualities they thought constituted a good and bad doctor. It is concluded that the patients surveyed tended not to think of themselves as consumers who should be wary of the quality of service offered by doctors. Rather they preferred to trust their doctor, and therefore did not devote effort to actively seeking out information about their doctor or evaluating his or her services.     

Modification of the Bankart reconstruction with a suture anchor. Report of a new technique

We assessed the effectiveness of a new suture anchor that has been designed to anchor sutures into a blind, straight hole drilled in bone. The strength of fixation in glenoid bone is 67 N for the No. 0 anchor and suture, and 82 N for the No. 2 device with suture. During 1988 and 1989, 32 patients underwent a modified Bankart reconstruction for recurrent anterior glenohumeral instability at two centers as part of a prospective study of this modified technique. There were no complications as a result of the technique. The four surgeons involved agreed that the suture anchor simplified the procedure. Seventeen patients have been reviewed, with more than 1 year followup. Ninety-four percent had good to excellent results according to the Bankart rating scale. There was one recurrent dislocation in a football player.     

Primary health care consumerism amongst elderly Australians

Despite acceptance of many of the principles justifying government intervention in health care provision and financing, much recent market-based policy in Australia, the USA and the UK has been based on the assumption that patients have the potential to behave as 'good consumers'. Good consumers are patients with the ability and desire to seek out health care of good quality and reasonable cost. In this paper, an exploratory survey of general practice attenders in Western and Northern Sydney is reported. The aim of the survey was to assess the extent to which patients critically select and evaluate their general practitioner, as a good consumer may be expected to do. The results demonstrate a lack of consumer-oriented behaviour both in general and amongst older respondents in particular. If such results hold true, market-based health care policies relying on consumers to judge quality of care are likely to be detrimental to the health of older people.     

Profile of men randomized to the prostate cancer prevention trial: baseline health-related quality of life, urinary and sexual functioning, and health behaviors.

PURPOSE: To describe men who agreed to be randomized to the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT), a 7-year, double-blind placebo-controlled study of the efficacy of finasteride in preventing prostate cancer. METHODS: Comprehensive health-related quality-of-life data are presented for 18,882 randomized PCPT participants. RESULTS: PCPT participants are highly educated, middle to upper income, and primarily white (92%). Participants reported healthy lifestyles. The mean American Urological Association Symptom Index score was well below the maximum entry score of less than 19; existing urinary symptoms were generally not bothersome. The scores for two sexual functioning scales could range from 0 to 100, with higher scores reflecting worse sexual functioning. The mean score for the Sexual Problem Scale was 19.2 out of 100, and the mean Sexual Activities Scale was 44.1 out of 100. Scores for seven of the eight Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey scales (higher scores are better) were 10 to 20 points higher than those reported by a general population sample and differed minimally by race but not by age. Previously reported associations between sexual dysfunction and hypertension, diabetes, and depression were also observed. Men who never smoked reported less sexual dysfunction than did those who either had quit or still smoked. CONCLUSION: Individuals who are likely to enroll in primary prevention trials have a high socioeconomic status, healthy lifestyle behaviors, and better health than the general population. These data help oncologists design chemoprevention trials with respect to the selection of health-related quality-of-life assessments and recruitment strategies.     

Real time ultrasound, arterial pulsation and neonatal cerebral infarction.

This paper describes an infant whose cranial ultrasound scan showed marked unilateral cerebral arterial pulsation and enlargement without other abnormality. Subsequent computerized tomogram showed extensive cortical infarction in an area not readily accessed by ultrasound. It is concluded that the real time dimension of cranial ultrasound is of diagnostic value in the absence of demonstrable parenchymal or intraventricular abnormality.