A population-based study of nonfatal childhood injuries

A random-digit-dialing telephone survey was used to assess the frequency and associated characteristics of childhood poisoning, burns, and head injuries in 1,213 San Diego County households having at least one child 14 years of age or younger at the time of the telephone interview in 1980. The survey population was representative of the general San Diego County population with regard to socioeconomic status and geographic distribution. The frequency of injuries judged to be serious enough to require medical care and the median ages for each injury were head injury, 4.2% and 5.5 years; burns 4.0% and 2 years; and poisonings, 3.4% and 2 years. Forty-four percent of all poisonings were related to drugs, of which aspirin was the single most common medication. Hot liquids or hot surfaces were responsible for 52% of burns. The majority of head injuries (65%) were caused by falls, usually outside the home. Education was positively associated with poisonings, and income was negatively associated with burns. Children of caretakers working outside the home did not have higher injury rates than those whose caretakers were not so employed. Differences in caretaker attitudes were few, and may reflect the experience of having an injury, rather than factors preceding it. The advantages and limitations of this method of assessing childhood injury in populations are discussed.     

Variables associated with changes in spirometry in patients with obstructive lung diseases.

One hundred fifty subjects were enrolled in a long-term study of obstructive lung diseases; 84 of these were subjected to five or more spirometric studies over a period of two or more years. Stepdown regression analysis was performed to determine the association between many different variables and the annual rates of change in the forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1). The following associations were noted to be significant (p less than 0.03); more favorable rates of change of the FVC and FEV1 were associated with a higher alpha1-antitrypsin level and older age. Less favorable changes were associated with more years of cigarette smoking, more airway reactivity and more frequent lower respiratory tract illnesses.     

成人骨髓间充质干细胞的体外培养及生物学特性

目的:观察成人骨髓间充质干细胞体外分离培养方法及其生物学特性,为骨髓间充质干细胞的临床应用奠定技术基础。方法:实验于2005-12在吉林省四平市中心医院中心实验室进行。实验材料:人骨髓间充质干细胞,Ficoll淋巴细胞分离液,胎牛血清,牛血清白蛋白,α-MEM培养基,胰蛋白酶,FITC标记的CD44和CD90。实验方法:①人骨髓间充质干细胞的分离与培养:采集成人骨髓,密度梯度法分离单个核细胞,条件培养基培养和扩增,倒置光学显微镜下观察细胞形态及生长情况。②人骨髓间充质干细胞生长曲线的测定:取生长良好的P1,P5,P10细胞,用胰酶消化,接种于24孔板培养,每天各取3孔消化计数细胞,取平均值,连续培养7d,绘制生长曲线。③人骨髓间充质干细胞表面标志的测定:取生长良好P5细胞进行免疫荧光染色鉴定(CD44,CD90并设同型对照)。④人骨髓间充质干细胞的冻存及复苏:收集生长良好细胞,计数细胞密度及冻前存活率。将细胞加入到细胞冻存液中液氮冷冻保存。30d后复苏细胞,每日倒置光学显微镜下观察细胞生长状况。结果:①倒置显微镜下观察细胞形态:倒置显微镜下观察细胞呈纤维形,漩涡状生长。②人骨髓间充质干细胞的生长曲线分析:传代的细胞生长较原代要快,从第10代开始细胞生长开始出现缓慢征象。③细胞表面标记检测结果:免疫荧光染色后细胞膜着色明显,CD44,CD90阳性率均大于90%。④细胞冻存及复苏生长特性分析:椎虫蓝计数细胞存活率90%以上,增殖能力强,和未冻存过的传代细胞具有同样的生长特性。结论:应用密度梯度法分离法能获得较高纯度的骨髓间充质干细胞,能在体外长期培养,在传代培养5代内生长旺盛且生物学特性稳定。     

A chromosomal breakage syndrome with profound immunodeficiency

The chromosomal breakage syndromes--ataxia-telangiectasia, Fanconi's anemia, and Bloom's syndrome--are associated with growth failure, neurologic abnormalities, immunodeficiency, and an increased incidence of malignancy. The relationship between these features is unknown. We recently evaluated a 21-year-old female with more severe chromosomal breakage, immunodeficiency, and growth failure than in any of the mentioned disorders. As of November 1985, the patient remains clinically free of malignancy. At age 18, the patient's weight was 22.6 kg (50th percentile for seven years), height was 129 cm (50th percentile for eight years), and head circumference was 42 cm (50th percentile for six months). Laboratory studies demonstrated a marked decrease in both B and T cell number and function. The peripheral blood contained 400 to 900 lymphocytes/microL with 32% T11 cells, 17% T4 cells, and 21% T8 cells. The proliferative responses to phytohemagglutinin (PHA), pokeweed mitogen, and concanavalin A were less than 10% of control. There were 1% surface IgM positive cells, and serum IgG was 185 mg/dL, IgM 7 mg/dL, IgA 5 mg/dL. In lymphocyte cultures stimulated with the T cell mitogens PHA, phorbol ester, and interleukin 2, 55% of the banded metaphases demonstrated breaks or rearrangements. The majority of the breaks involved four fragile sites on chromosomes 7 and 14, 7p13, 7q35, 14q11, and 14q32. These are the sites of the genes for the T cell-antigen receptor and the immunoglobulin heavy chain and are sites of gene rearrangement in lymphocyte differentiation. Epstein-Barr virus stimulated B cells and fibroblast cultures also demonstrated a high incidence of breaks, but the sites were less selective. These findings suggest that the sites of chromosomal fragility in the chromosomal breakage syndromes may be informative and that factors other than the severity of the immunodeficiency or the high incidence of chromosomal damage may contribute to the occurrence of malignancy in the chromosomal breakage syndromes.     

Psychological stress in adolescent and adult mice increases neuroinflammation and attenuates the response to LPS challenge

Background  

There is ample evidence that psychological stress adversely affects many diseases. Recent evidence has shown that intense stressors can increase inflammation within the brain, a known mediator of many diseases. However, long-term outcomes of chronic psychological stressors that elicit a neuroinflammatory response remain unknown.     

The M694V mutation in Armenian‐Americans: a 10‐year retrospective study of MEFV mutation testing for familial Mediterranean fever at UCLA

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), inherited in an autosomal recessive manner, is a systemic auto‐inflammatory disorder characterized by recurrent attacks of fever with peritonitis, pleuritis, synovitis and erysipeloid rash. The marenostrin‐encoding fever (MEFV) gene, located on chromosome 16p13.3, is the only gene in which mutations are currently known to cause FMF. To correlate specific genotypes with adverse phenotypes of affected populations residing in the Western United States, a retrospective case series review was conducted of all MEFV gene mutation testing completed at UCLA Clinical Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory between February 2002 and February 2012, followed by clinical chart review of all subjects who either have a single or double mutation. All 12 common mutations in the MEFV gene were analyzed and the M694V variant was found to be associated with an adverse FMF clinical outcome in the Armenian‐American population, manifested by earlier onset of disease, increased severity of disease, and renal amyloidosis.     

Motivations for Contributing to Health-Related Articles on Wikipedia: An Interview Study

BackgroundWikipedia is one of the most accessed sources of health information online. The current English-language Wikipedia contains more than 28,000 articles pertaining to health.ObjectiveThe aim was to characterize individuals’ motivations for contributing to health content on the English-language Wikipedia.MethodsA set of health-related articles were randomly selected and recent contributors invited to complete an online questionnaire and follow-up interview (by Skype, by email, or face-to-face). Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis and a realist grounded theory approach.ResultsA total of 32 Wikipedians (31 men) completed the questionnaire and 17 were interviewed. Those completing the questionnaire had a mean age of 39 (range 12-59) years; 16 had a postgraduate qualification, 10 had or were currently studying for an undergraduate qualification, 3 had no more than secondary education, and 3 were still in secondary education. In all, 15 were currently working in a health-related field (primarily clinicians). The median period for which they have been an active editing Wikipedia was 3-5 years. Of this group, 12 were in the United States, 6 were in the United Kingdom, 4 were in Canada, and the remainder from another 8 countries. Two-thirds spoke more than 1 language and 90% (29/32) were also active contributors in domains other than health. Wikipedians in this study were identified as health professionals, professionals with specific health interests, students, and individuals with health problems. Based on the interviews, their motivations for editing health-related content were summarized in 5 strongly interrelated categories: education (learning about subjects by editing articles), help (wanting to improve and maintain Wikipedia), responsibility (responsibility, often a professional responsibility, to provide good quality health information to readers), fulfillment (editing Wikipedia as a fun, relaxing, engaging, and rewarding activity), and positive attitude to Wikipedia (belief in the value of Wikipedia). An additional factor, hostility (from other contributors), was identified that negatively affected Wikipedians’ motivations.ConclusionsContributions to Wikipedia’s health-related content in this study were made by both health specialists and laypeople of varying editorial skills. Their motivations for contributing stem from an inherent drive based on values, standards, and beliefs. It became apparent that the community who most actively monitor and edit health-related articles is very small. Although some contributors correspond to a model of “knowledge philanthropists,” others were focused on maintaining articles (improving spelling and grammar, organization, and handling vandalism). There is a need for more people to be involved in Wikipedia’s health-related content.