Spatial distribution of polychlorinated naphthalenes in air over the Great Lakes and air-water gas exchange in Lake Ontario

High-volume air samples were collected during research cruises of Lake Superior in August 1996 and May 1997 and of Lake Ontario (North America) in July and September 1998 and June 2000 and analyzed for polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs). Levels of tetra- to octachloronaphthalene (sigmaPCN) varied spatially, with mean values (+/-SD) of 1.78 +/- 0.74 and 1.46 +/- 1.07 pg m(-3) for Lake Superior in 1996 and 1997, respectively, and of 5.53 +/- 2.19 and 5.60 +/- 2.24 pg m(-3) for Lake Ontario in 1998 and 2000, respectively. Evaporative sources were predominant, although combustion marker congeners such as tetrachloronaphthalenes 44 and 29 and pentachloronaphthalene 54 were present in most samples and were enhanced relative to technical PCN mixtures. The sigmaPCN concentrations were higher in Lake Ontario samples collected in the western half of the lake and when winds were from the west. Greater proportions of the population and industrial areas are located around the western part of Lake Ontario. Water-air fugacity ratios, calculated from air and water samples collected in June 2000, indicate that the trichloronaphthalenes are volatilizing from Lake Ontario, whereas the tetrachloronaphthalenes are close to equilibrium and the net deposition of tetrachloronaphthalenes can occur when the urban air plume influences levels over the lake.     

Child-rearing attitudes and cardiovascular risk among children: moderating influence of parental socioeconomic status

BACKGROUND: We examined associations of parental socioeconomic status (SES) and hostile maternal child-rearing attitudes with the insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) precursors in children. METHODS: The participants were 210 randomly selected healthy boys and girls who participated in the epidemiological Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study and who were 3, 6, and 9 years of age at the three study phases. Hostile maternal child-rearing attitudes were self-rated by the mothers. SES consisted of the years of education of the parents and family income. The IRS comprised serum insulin, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index. RESULTS: Among boys, low parental SES and strict maternal discipline were associated with heightened somatic risk. Among girls, parental SES moderated the association between maternal child-rearing attitudes and somatic risk so that belonging to a high-SES family seemed to protect the girls against the adverse health effects of hostile mothering. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that the psychosocial environment is differentially related to girls' and boys' somatic risk. It is concluded that belonging to high social class may buffer against childhood stress, while belonging to low social class may enhance vulnerability to stressors in childhood.     

Treatment improves serotonin transporter binding and reduces binge eating

Rationale Serotonin (5-HT) is involved in the control of eating behaviour by inhibiting food intake. Obese women with binge-eating disorder (OB-BED) were recently found to have reduced 5-HT transporter binding. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a successful treatment on 5-HT transporters in OB-BED. Methods The 5-HT transporter binding of seven OB-BED was measured by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), by using iodine-123-labelled nor-β-CIT as a tracer, before treatment and after successful treatment, when the OB-BED were asymptomatic. Treatment consisted of group psychotherapy and fluoxetine medication. The control subjects, six obese women without eating disorders, were also studied twice by using SPECT. Results The 5-HT transporter binding of the symptomatically recovered OB-BED increased significantly (24±22%) after treatment, whereas in the control group, binding remained unchanged. Conclusions The results tentatively suggest that 5-HT transporter binding in OB-BED is an adaptive mechanism, which can be affected by treatment. Furthermore, there seems to be a link between improved 5-HT transporter binding and reduced binge eating.     

The combined effects of apolipoprotein E polymorphism and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol on cognitive performance in young adults

This study examined the relations of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype and the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level to cognitive performance of 57 randomly selected healthy young adults. From the ongoing population-based study of Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns, 25 men and 32 women were ApoE genotyped and participated in mental arithmetic and reaction time tasks. In contrast to findings obtained from studies with elderly subjects, ApoE4 polymorphism was associated with better cognitive performance. In addition, LDL cholesterol moderated this association. In the ApoE4 genotype group, low LDL cholesterol was associated with good performance in the mental arithmetic test, whereas for those without ApoE4 genotype, low LDL cholesterol was associated with poor performance. Performance in the reaction time task did not differ between the ApoE groups. In conclusion, assessment of the influence of ApoE on cognitive performance may require taking additional physiological factors, such as the level of cholesterol, into account.     

Isoflavone intake in four different European countries: the VENUS approach

The aim of this study was to identify the level of isoflavone intake (total isoflavones, daidzein and genistein) in four European countries: Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK. For this purpose national food composition databases of isoflavone content were created in a comparable way, using the Vegetal Estrogens in Nutrition and the Skeleton (VENUS) analytical database as a common basis, and appropriate food consumption data were selected. The isoflavone intake in Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands and the UK is on average less than 1 mg/d. Small groups of consumers of soya foods could be identified in Ireland, The Netherlands and the UK. The estimated intake levels are low compared with those found in typical Asian diets (approximately 20-100 mg/d) and also low compared with levels where physiological effects are expected (60-100 mg/d). The results (including a subgroup analysis of soya product consumers) showed that such levels are difficult to achieve with the European diets studied here.     

Effects of repeated morphine treatment on metabolism of cerebral dopamine and serotonin in alcohol-preferring AA and alcohol-avoiding ANA rats

The alcohol-preferring AA (Alko Alcohol) rats are more rapidly sensitized to the locomotor activity-stimulating effects of small doses of morphine than the alcohol-avoiding ANA (Alko Non-Alcohol) rats. To study the involvement of dopaminergic and serotonergic transmission in this behaviour, the effects of acute morphine (1 mg/kg) challenge on the concentrations of dopamine (DA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) and their metabolites were estimated in three dopaminergic areas in AA and ANA rats on the fourth day after a 3-day morphine or saline treatment. Acute administration of morphine enhanced DA metabolism in the caudate-putamen in the AA, but not in the ANA, rats; in the nucleus accumbens and in the olfactory tubercle the acute effect of morphine was similar in rats of both lines. Morphine pretreatment did not significantly enhance acute morphine's effects on DA metabolites in any of the brain areas studied in rats of either line. Acute administration of morphine enhanced brain 5-HT metabolism in the AA rats but not in the ANA rats, but after repeated treatment it induced no enhancement of 5-HT metabolism. With the methods used, no significant differences were found between the AA and ANA rats in the effects of repeated morphine on cerebral dopaminergic or serotonergic mechanisms which could account for the different behavioural sensitization found previously in rats of these lines. However, both monoamines studied might be involved in the acute locomotor stimulatory effects of morphine.     

A preliminary report--heparin counteracts indomethacin effect on ductus arteriosus in very low birthweight infants.

OBJECTIVE: We report a clinical observation showing that continuous exposure to heparin via a central venous catheter is associated with patent ductus arteriosus treatment failure with indomethacin in very low birthweight infants. STUDY SELECTION: A clinical observational case report in infants weighting <1501 g. DATA EXTRACTION: This study compares the rates of patent ductus arteriosus treatment failure during a) the index period from June 2, 2003, to August 22, 2003, when all very low birthweight infants with a peripherally inserted central venous catheter received continuous infusion of heparinized parenteral nutrition; b) the baseline period of 1 yr before the index period; and c) the postindex period of 1 yr after the index period. DATA SYNTHESIS: The rate of patent ductus arteriosus treatment failure with indomethacin increased significantly during the index period compared with the baseline (odds ratio, 7.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.41-34.7; p = .017) and postindex periods (odds ratio, 33.8; 95% confidence interval, 4.72-243; p = .0005). The result was confirmed in logistic multivariable regression analysis. CONCLUSION: This observation, based on a case series and their controls, serves as a basis for a new hypothesis suggesting that continuous exposure to heparin through heparinized central venous infusion significantly increases patent ductus arteriosus treatment failure with indomethacin. This hypothesis needs to be tested in a randomized controlled trial.     

Probing the ability of the coat and vertex protein of the membrane-containing bacteriophage PRD1 to display a meningococcal epitope

Bacteriophage PRD1 is an icosahedral dsDNA virus with a diameter of 740 A and an outer protein shell composed of 720 copies of major coat protein P3. Spike complexes at the vertices are composed of a pentameric base (protein P31) and a spike structure (proteins P5 and P2) where the N-terminal region of the trimeric P5 is associated with the base and the C-terminal region of P5 is associated with receptor-binding protein P2. The functionality of proteins P3 and P5 was investigated using insertions and deletions. It was observed that P3 did not tolerate changes whereas P5 tolerated changes much more freely. These properties support the hypothesis that viruses have core structures and functions, which remain stable over time, as well as other elements, responsible for host interactions, which are evolutionally more fluid. The insertional probe used was the apex of exposed loop 4 of group B meningococcal outer membrane protein PorA, a medically important subunit vaccine candidate. It was demonstrated that the epitope could be displayed on the virus surface as part of spike protein P5.     

Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of clodronate in patients with primary operable breast cancer.

PURPOSE: The development of bone metastases depends on tumor-induced osteoclastic resorption of bone, which may be inhibited by the antiosteolytic bisphosphonate clodronate. Given to patients with primary breast cancer, clodronate might reduce the subsequent incidence of bone metastases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This double-blind, multicenter trial accrued 1,069 assessable patients with operable breast cancer between 1989 and 1995. All patients received surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and tamoxifen as required. Patients were randomized to receive oral clodronate 1,600 mg/d or a placebo for 2 years starting within 6 months of primary treatment. The primary end point was relapse in bone, analyzed on an intent-to-treat basis, during the medication period and during the total follow-up period (median follow-up, 2,007 days). Secondary end points were relapse in other sites, mortality, and toxicity. RESULTS: During the total follow-up period, there was a nonsignificant reduction in occurrence of bone metastases (clodronate, n = 63; placebo, n = 80; hazards ratio [HR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.56 to 1.08; P =.127). During the medication period there was a significant reduction in the occurrence of bone metastases (clodronate, n = 12; placebo, n = 28; HR, 0.44; 95% CI, 0.22 to 0.86; P =.016). The occurrence of nonosseous metastases was similar (clodronate, n = 112; placebo, n = 128; P =.257), but there was a significant reduction in mortality (clodronate, n = 98; placebo, n = 129; P =.047) during the total follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Clodronate, given to patients with primary operable breast cancer, may reduce the occurrence of bone metastases, although this reduction was only significant during this medication period. There was a significant reduction in mortality.     

Outcome of conditioning intensity in acute myeloid leukemia with monosomal karyotype in patients over 45 year‐old: A study from the acute leukemia working party (ALWP) of the European group of blood and marrow transplantation (EBMT)

Acute myeloid leukemia with monosomal karyotype (MK AML) carries a very poor prognosis, even after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT). However, SCT remains the only curative option in this high‐risk population. Because myeloablative conditioning regimen (MAC) is associated with less relapse, we hypothesized that more intensive conditioning regimen might be beneficial for MK AML patients. We reviewed 303 patients over age 45 diagnosed with either de novo or secondary MK AML. One hundred and five patients received a MAC and 198 a reduced‐intensity conditioning (RIC). The median age at SCT was 57‐year‐old, significantly lower in the MAC (53‐year‐old) than in the RIC group (59‐year‐old). The median follow‐up was 42 months (range, 3 ? 156 months). The 3‐year overall survival (OS), leukemia‐free survival (LFS), and relapse rate (RR) were not significantly different between both groups with overall values of 34%, 29%, and 51%, respectively. On the contrary, the 3‐year nonrelapse mortality (NRM) was significantly higher in MAC recipients (28%) compared with RIC patients (16%, P = 0.004). The incidence of Grades II to IV acute graft‐versus‐host disease (GvHD) was significantly higher after a MAC (30.5%) than after a RIC (19.3%, P = 0.02). That of chronic GvHD was comparable between both groups (35%) and did not impact on LFS. Interestingly, within our MK AML cohort, hypodiploidy was significantly associated with worse outcomes. Due to reduced toxicity and comparable OS, LFS, and RR, RIC appears as a good transplant option in the very high‐risk population, including older patients, diagnosed with MK AML. Am. J. Hematol. 90:719–724, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.