Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis in northern Sweden: Clinical characteristics and practical guidance

Conclusion: Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) patients with high surgical treatment frequency (≥ 1/year, HF) were significantly younger and had a more widespread laryngeal disease compared to a low frequency treated group (< 1 treatment/year, LF). This study confirms the existence of a clinical RRP group, not primarily related to HPV sub-type, but more care-intensive and in need of more vigilant follow-up. Objectives: RRP is associated with high morbidity due to its influence on breathing and voice. The purpose of this study was to characterize RRP patients in northern Sweden and investigate possible predictor factors affecting therapeutic needs. Method: Patients from the regional referral area (northern Sweden) were categorized for age, disease duration, juvenile or adult onset, profile of disease development, number of surgical sessions in relation to disease duration, laryngeal deposition of papilloma, gender, and HPV sub-types, in order to identify patients with increased need for frequent surgical treatment. Results: The median age of the RRP patients (n = 48) was 44.5 years; 34 (71%) were males and 14 (29%) females, most were infected with HPV 6. Patients with high surgical treatment frequency/year were significantly younger and showed more widespread papillomatous vegetation in the larynx, compared to the low frequency treated group.     

Ultrastructural detection of neuronally transported choleragenoid by postembedding immunocytochemistry in freeze-substituted Lowicryl HM20™ embedded tissue

Choleragenoid (cholera toxin B-fragment; CTB) is an anterograde, retrograde and transganglionic neuronal tracer. We describe a method for detecting CTB-labeled neuronal cell bodies, neurites and boutons at the ultrastructural level, using postembedding immunogold techniques on freeze-substituted Lowicryl HM20™ embedded nervous tissue. Primary afferents and motoneurons were labeled by injection of CTB in the dorsal ramus of the C2 spinal nerve of the rat. Following fixation with paraformaldehyde (4%) and glutaraldehyde (0.25%), tissue sections from the spinal cord C2 segment were freeze-substituted and embedded in Lowicryl HM20™ and subsequently processed with postembedding immunocytochemistry for CTB and glutamate. Immunogold particles indicating CTB immunoreactivity were found over primary afferents and motoneurons. In primary afferents in the central cervical nucleus (CCN) and motor nuclei, immunogold labeling was seen in boutons over vesicle-containing axoplasm and to a lesser extent over axoplasm devoid of vesicles, but not over mitochondria or axolemma. In motoneurons, immunogold particles were seen over the Golgi apparatus in the soma and over lysosomes in both soma and dendrites. Quantification of glutamate-like immunoreactivity in 20 CTB-labeled and 20 CTB-negative boutons in the neuropil was found similar, indicating that CTB does not interfere with the immunocytochemical detection of neuronal epitopes such as the transmitter substance glutamate.     

Sleep and recovery in physicians on night call: a longitudinal field study

Background  

It is well known that physicians' night-call duty may cause impaired performance and adverse effects on subjective health, but there is limited knowledge about effects on sleep duration and recovery time. In recent years occupational stress and impaired well-being among anaesthesiologists have been frequently reported for in the scientific literature. Given their main focus on handling patients with life-threatening conditions, when on call, one might expect sleep and recovery to be negatively affected by work, especially in this specialist group. The aim of the present study was to examine whether a 16-hour night-call schedule allowed for sufficient recovery in anaesthesiologists compared with other physician specialists handling less life-threatening conditions, when on call.     

Antibodies against 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxyuridine are associated with lifestyle factors and GSTM1 genotype: a report from the Malm? Diet and Cancer cohort.

Plasma autoantibodies (aAbs) against the oxidized DNA base derivative 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxyuridine (5-HMdU) are potential biomarkers of cancer risk and oxidative stress. We examined their association with a number of cancer risk factors: smoking, alcohol habits, body fatness, and absence of the glutathione S-transferases M1 and T1 (GSTM1 and GSTT1) in a sample from the population-based Malm? Diet and Cancer cohort (Sweden). This was a cross-sectional study of 264 men and 280 women, 46-67 years of age. Anti-5-HMdU aAb concentration was determined by an ELISA. Data on tobacco exposure were collected through a questionnaire. Alcohol consumption was estimated by a modified diet history method. Body fatness was assessed by a bioimpedance method. The absence or presence of genes coding for GSTM1 and GSTT1 was determined in granulocyte DNA by a multiplex PCR technique. aAb titers were significantly greater in those with high alcohol consumption. Current smokers lacking GSTM1, particularly men, had greater aAb titers compared with nonsmokers or persons expressing GSTM1. Body fatness was inversely associated with antibody titers in men. GSTT1 genotype was not associated with aAb titers. Overall, women had higher aAb titers than men. Adjustment for potential confounders (history of chronic diseases, anti-inflammatory medication, and season of blood sampling) did not change the results. Our study shows that a high alcohol consumption, smoking in combination with lack of GSTM1, and low body fatness (in men) is associated with high titers of anti-5-HMdU aAbs in this population.     

In-situ measurements of gas permeability in fuel cell membranes using a cylindrical microelectrode

A new method to study permeation of gases in proton conducting membranes using a cylindrical microelectrode is presented. The focus of this work was to develop an in-situ method to study transport properties of hydrogen and oxygen close to real fuel cell operating conditions. The gas permeability is strongly affected by the change of water content in the membrane and it is therefore of advantage that, by using this method, measurements can be carried out over a wide range of relative humidities. The numerical method makes it possible to separate the diffusion coefficient and the concentration of dissolved gas in the membrane and also allows kinetic limitations to be taken into account. Chronoamperometric measurements on Nafion® 117 were successfully evaluated numerically. Experiments at temperatures of 25 and 60 °C with respect to oxygen permeation and at 60 °C for hydrogen permeation at relative humidities in the range 30–94% are presented. The reproducibility of data was excellent when measuring with different microelectrodes on the same membrane sample, but differed when measuring on different samples. In general, the permeability increases with increasing temperature and relative humidity.     

Logics and Logistics of Community Intervention Against Osteoporosis: An Evidence Basis

Under designations like small areas action research and intervention, directed ‘ground-up’ health promotion and prevention in the population form an important part of the ongoing medical systems development. There is recent evidence of the success of community intervention against cardiovascular disease. In osteoporosis, however, there is still a lack of conclusive data on both the logics and logistics of such an approach. Since 1988, a county health policy program has been formulated and implemented in Östergötland, Sweden, following the principles and guidelines of the WHO HFA 2000 declaration. Vadstena (n ? 7,600) was chosen for a local and generalizable osteoporosis prevention project mediated by the primary care organization by means of health promotion and education in the community. In the present report we emphasize that community intervention is an important new advancement of the medical systems, where the basic research questions include operational and management aspects as equally vital and measurable requisites and results as other performance and outcome variables. We found that a community intervention trial against osteoporosis is both motivated and feasible and in this report wish to provide evidence on these crucial issues of logics and logistics.     

Seasonal variation of lead uptake in the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris and the influence of soil liming and acidification

The influence of seasonal temperature variations and liming and acidification of the soil on lead uptake in juveniles and adults of the earthworm species Lumbricus terrestris L. was studied by enclosing specimens for up to five months in net bags provided with lead-contaminated, sandy soil. Lead concentrations were analyzed in the pharynx, gizzard, muscles, seminal vesicles and cerebral ganglion. Lead distribution in whole animals was assessed after an injection of ²⁰³Pb. The lead concentrations of the tissues were mostly linearly correlated with the soil concentrations, which ranged from <0.5 to 310 mg/kg, and the highest concentrations were generally found in the ganglion. The effects on lead concentrations in tissues of lowered soil pH from 5.6 to 5.1 or raised to 5.9 were insignificant, though more lead became allocated to muscles than to ganglion when pH was lowered. The lead uptake was strongly dependent on the ambient temperature, especially in the muscles, and the concentrations were reduced by 50% or more during the cold spell in the winter season, presumably as a consequence of a low feeding activity. Though juveniles seemed more prone to take up lead, the concentrations were not significantly higher than those in adults during the winter period. The observations are discussed in the light of the use of earthworms in standardized programs for environmental hazard assessment, especially with respect to species and tissue selection.     

用固定化啤酒酵母细胞合成胞嘧啶核苷二磷酸胆碱

κ－卡拉胶－魔芋多糖复配胶包埋的啤酒酵母细胞，经冻融处理后用于合成胞嘧啶核苷二磷酸胆碱（CDP－胆碱）。结果表明：250mL摇瓶中加入50mL反应液（葡萄糖400mol/L，CMP10mmol/L，磷酸碍碱50mmol/L,K2HPO4-KH2PO4缓冲液100mmol/L，MgSO410mmol/L,pH=8.0），固定化细胞1200g/L,34℃、150r/min下，反应4h后补加400mmol/L葡萄糖，反应8h可使60％以上的CMP转化为CDP－胆碱。反应液经灭菌和添加辅酶I（NAD^ ）后，固定化细胞可连续使用4次，CDP－胆碱转化率维持在40％以上。