Thioether excretion of workers exposed to bitumen fumes

Summary The excretion of thioethers was determined in the urine of workers involved in road paving operations and in the preparation of asphalt mixing in an asphalt plant. An occupationally nonexposed group served as control. From the results it was observed that there was no significant difference in urinary thioether levels between the exposed and nonexposed groups, however, smokers of both exposed groups had significantly higher urinary thioether levels than the nonexposed smoking workers. These results suggested that higher urinary thioether excretion could be only due to a difference in smoking behaviour. There were also significant differences in urinary thioether levels between the exposed smoking and nonsmoking workers. The authors suggest that these workers have a low mutagenic/carcinogenic risk and smoking is responsible for the majority of thioether excretion, as has been found by other investigators.     

Laparoscopic type 7 total hysterectomy and adnexectomy with or without Burch colposuspension: operative technique with the LigaSure device and results

Introduction  

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the use of an operative technique incorporating the LigaSure vessel sealing system in patients undergoing type 7 total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) and adnexectomy with or without Burch colposuspension.     

Nifedipine for the treatment of preterm labor in twin and singleton pregnancies

Purpose  

To investigate the outcomes of singleton and twin pregnancies that were complicated by spontaneous preterm labor and received nifedipine tocolysis.     

TTV infection in children with and without liver disease.

BACKGROUND: TTV DNA has been reported in patients with a broad spectrum of hepatic disorders as well as in healthy people. AIM: To clarify the role of TTV in children with liver disease and in healthy children. METHODS: Degenerate primers designed to amplify a target sequence from the ORF 1 region of TTV genome were used for nested PCR, to detect TTV DNA in sera. RESULTS: TTV was detected in 3 of 18 children with chronic hepatitis B (16.7%), 2 of 17 hepatitis B carriers (11.8%), 2 of 17 children with cryptogenic chronic liver disease (11.8%), and 1 of 40 (2.5%) children without liver disease. The infection rate was similar among the various study groups and in the various age groups. There was no difference between TTV positive and negative children in respect to gender, history of surgery, parenteral treatment, transfusion of blood and blood products, presence of hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, jaundice, and transaminase values. CONCLUSION: TTV does not seem to have an etiologic role in cryptogenic liver disease in children and does not seem to influence the clinical course of liver disease.     

An unusual presentation of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis to the lymph nodes has been reported in about one-third of autopsies, mostly to the regional chains. Involvement of cervical lymph nodes is extremely rare. We encountered an unusual case of HCC in a patient with chronic liver disease presenting with right-sided anterior cervical lymph node metastasis skipping mediastinal and supraclavicular chains. One should be aware of that unusual site of presentation and metastasis of HCC so as not to miss the diagnosis.     

The effect of mode of delivery on postpartum sexual functioning in primiparous women

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the effect of mode of delivery on postpartum sexual functioning in primiparous women. A total of 248 primiparous women were recruited into this study. One hundred fifty-six delivered spontaneously with mediolateral episiotomy and 92 had elective cesarean section. Sexual function was evaluated by the Female Sexual Function Index, a validated questionnaire separately evaluating desire, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Subjects were questioned relating their pre-pregnancy experiences during the first antenatal visit when the pregnancy was not more than six gestational weeks. The test was repeated 6 months postpartum. Statistical evaluation was carried out by SPSS for Windows v.11. In the vaginal delivery with mediolateral episiotomy group, there were significant decreases in the scores 6 months after delivery when compared to scores before pregnancy (p<0.001). In the cesarean section group, no difference was observed between pre-pregnancy and postpartum scores (p>0.05). When the two groups were compared, there was a significant difference between 6 months postpartum scores (p<0.001). Not only pain, but also other important aspects of sexual function, such as arousal, lubrication, orgasm, and satisfaction are affected by performing mediolateral episiotomy during vaginal delivery, well beyond the puerperal period. Concerning its effects on postpartum sexual functioning, a policy of restricting mediolateral episiotomy use should be adopted.     

Encapsulation and osteoinduction of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts in chitosan-hydroxyapatite microspheres

Periodontal ligament cells play a crucial role in the regeneration of periodontal tissues and an undifferentiated mesenchymal cell subset is thought to exist within this population. The aim of this study was to assess the osteogenic differentiation potential of human periodontal ligament fibroblasts (hPDLFs) in three dimensional (3D)-osteogenic culture environment following encapsulation in chitosan-hydroxyapatite (C/HA) microspheres with the size range of 350-450 microm. Human PDLF cultures were established and three experimental groups were formed: (i) two-dimensional (2D)-culture as single cell monolayer, (ii) 3D-static culture of C/HA encapsulated hPDLFs, and (iii) 3D-dynamic culture of C/HA encapsulated hPDLFs in a rotating wall vessel bioreactor. The cells were cultured in standard culture medium supplemented with beta-glycerophosphate, dexamethasone, and ascorbic acid. After 21 days, immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies against osteonectin, osteopontin, bone-sialoprotein, and osteocalcin as osteogenic differentiation markers. Phase-contrast and scanning electron microscopy observations were used for histological and morphological evaluation. The combined effects of osteoinductive medium and HA-containing composite microsphere material on encapsulated hPDLFs resulted in the transformation of a considerable portion of the cells into osteoblastic lineage at the end of the experiments. Results demonstrate the ability of hPDLFs to undergo osteogenic differentiation upon induction in vitro, both under 2D and 3D culture conditions. C/HA microspheres in microgravity bioreactor may serve as a suitable 3D environment to support the osteogenic differentiation of human PDLFs, in vitro.     

Capture of culicids in urban areas: evaluation of the resting box method

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the occurrence of adult culicid populations in urban areas and measure the sensitivity of the resting box collection method. METHODS: Mosquito were collected in 1999 and 2000, in two cities in the State of S?o Paulo, Brazil: Ocau?u and Uchoa. In each city, 15 blocks were drawn by lots and then one home in each block was drawn. Two resting boxes were installed at each home: one inside and the other outside the house. Monthly collections were carried out at each home, over a 13-month period, using manual aspirators inside and outside the home and inside the boxes. The captured specimens were taken to the laboratory for screening and identification according to species and sex. RESULTS: Out of the 2,112 culicid specimens collected, 99.7% were of four species: Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, Cx. declarator and Cx. coronator. The distribution of these species in Ocau?u was 83.3%, 3.2%, 10.8% and 24%, respectively, and in Uchoa it was 83.8%, 8.4%, 4.4% and 3.0%, respectively. Among the females of the genus Culex, 34.3% were captured in the resting boxes and 59.9% were collected from inside the house. Among the females of Ae. aegypti, 17.6% were found in the resting boxes and 82.4% inside the home. CONCLUSIONS: The great majority of the specimens collected belonged to four species of culicids, and Cx. quinquefasciatus was the most common. Proportionally, the females of Ae. aegypti were found more inside the home than were those of the genus Culex. Resting boxes present potential for use as surveillance devices, but their use needs to be more thoroughly evaluated.     

How do intensive care nurses assess patients’ pain?

Identification and evaluation of pain in critical care patients may be difficult because of communication problems. Moreover, at present there are very few nursing studies that examine the attitudes of critical care nurses towards the assessment of patients' pain. This study was designed to determine the approach of critical care nurses towards assessing patients' pain levels, and to evaluate the problems in nursing diagnosis of those having difficulty in articulating their pain symptoms. We used a questionnaire to assess nurses attitudes to patients' pain. The study sample consisted of 91 critical care nurses who were recruited between January and February 2002. The results suggest that patient pain was considered undesirable by 44% of nurses. About 70-3% of the nurses reported resorting to administering analgesics to relieve their patients' pain. Some 57.1 % of nurses stated that they would have investigated whether the patients had really been experiencing pain, prior to administering the prescribed analgesics to patients. Some 85.7% of the sample indicated that the patients themselves would make the most accurate evaluation of their pain. The data suggested that 39.6% of nurses did not know how to evaluate pain symptoms in critical care patients suffering from complicated problems, and that 37.4% evaluated pain by monitoring the patients' behaviours. The study demonstrated that most of the critical care nurses did not know how to evaluate pain in patients having communication problems. The paper concludes by suggesting that there is a clear need to address nursing education and training with regard to evaluation and management of patients' pain whilst in critical care environment.