Critical review on the WHO/IARC report regarding carcinogenicity of Helicobacter pylori

Helicobacter pylori has been defined as a "definite carcinogen" at the WHO/IARC meeting in 1994. H. pylori causes histological gastritis. Long-lasting infection may induce atrophic gastritis, which is considered to be the first step in the gastritis-metaplasia-carcinoma sequence of the stomach. In a pooled analysis of the three prospective epidemiological studies, the relative risk for developing gastric cancer with H. pylori infection was 3.8, which was statistically significant. Thus, it was concluded that there was sufficient evidence in humans for the carcinogenicity of infection with H. pylori. However, there was no evidence experimentally for the carcinogenicity of infection with H. pylori. Further study is necessary to elucidate the role of H. pylori in gastric carcinogenesis.     

BSI workshop on cytokines in reproduction

The British Society for Immunology Spring Meeting, held at the University of Bristol on April 17-19th, 1996, to mark the bicentenary of Edward Jenner's vaccination against smallpox, provided the setting for the recent meeting of the UK Materno-Fetal Immunobiology Group (MFIG). The them for the MFIG workshop was 'Cytokines in Reproduction' and it was attended by over 60 delegates.     

Update on primary osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is the most common bone disorder encountered in clinical practice. It is also one of the most important diseases facing our aging population. In the United States alone, an estimated 1.5 million fractures that occur annually are attributed to osteoporosis, and they account for an estimated $13 billion annually. With the projected increase in life expectancy for the global population, osteoporosis and osteoporosis-related fractures have the potential to become an even larger health-care problem in the future. This article focuses on the evaluation and treatment of primary osteoporosis in women.     

Effect of values-clarification workshop on value awareness.

Assessed the effects of self-esteem (Tennessee Self Concept Scale) and values-clarification strategies on value awareness in a 7-hr values-clarification workshop. Ss were 60 undergraduates. Participants in the workshop showed significantly greater gains in value awareness than nonparticipants, confirming that values-clarification strategies are valid means for clarifying personal values of undergraduates undecided in their major field. Low self-esteem Ss acquired gains in value awareness comparable to those of high self-esteem Ss, indicating that values-clarification strategies are useful for clarifying personal values of both high and low self-esteem individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Problem-solving workshop training.

Assessed the effects of intensive problem-solving training on outcomes related to counseling. 50 undergraduates who expressed a need for and willingness to participate in a problem-solving workshop were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: a treatment group, a pre–posttest control group, and a posttest-only control group. Treatment consisted of didactic presentations, group discussions, and directed practice in 5 90-min sessions that were designed for systematic training in 5 stages of problem solving. Dependent variables were generation of alternatives, decision-making skill, and Ss' perceptions of their problem-solving skills as measured by Subtests 2 and 3 of the Problem-Solving Test and the Problem-Solving Inventory. Results indicate that training did influence the quality of response, but training did not increase the number of Ss' alternatives. Ss participating in the workshop also described themselves as using fewer impulsive behaviors during problem solving than nonparticipant controls. No differences were found among groups on their ability to make effective choices from among a set of alternatives. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Secondary osteoporosis

Secondary osteoporosis is diagnosed when there is a well-established disease-related risk factor for fracture or low bone mass. Secondary osteoporosis is associated with a substantial minority of osteoporotic fractures in women perhaps with a majority of osteoporotic related fractures in men. This chapter does not review all the possible causes of low bone mass and fractures but picks out some of the more important causes of, with an emphasis on the main iatrogenic cause, that is corticosteroid induced osteoporosis. It also highlights some of the possible causes which could be avoidable. Where appropriate the methods of prevention and treatment of secondary osteoporosis are reviewed.     

Post-thyroidectomy osteoporosis

Thyroxine and calcitonin secreted by the thyroid gland are reduced in 26 cases patients with thyroid cancer after total or subtotal thyroidectomy. Since calcitonin participates in bone mineral metabolisim, bone mineral density (BMD) was examined in these patients treated in the past 10 years. It was found that serum calcitonin level was decreased, and the degree of reduction positively correlated with BMD (r = 0.78, P < 0.005). Osteoporosis developed about 10 years of age earlier. Most patients did not constantly receive thyroid tablets after excision of the thyroid. The resulting hypothyroidism led to ovarian dysfunction in female patients as shown by lowered level of estradiol. It is therefore indicated to administer thyroid tablet and calcitonin to prevent osteoporosis.     

浅议钢铁工业厂房照明设计

对一些钢铁企业类的工业厂房照明设计作一些简要的分析和总结.     

国外湿法冶炼车间通风方式探讨

锌湿法冶炼浸出、净液及电解生产过程中有大量的酸雾、水蒸气等产生,车间工作环境恶劣,污染严重.作者考察了国外冶炼厂湿法车间,通过本文进行介绍,同时分析探讨反应槽废气处理及锌电解车间的通风方式与国内不同之处,提出改善工作环境、节能减排的设想.     

Calcium and osteoporosis

Calcium is an essential nutrient that is involved in most metabolic processes and the phosphate salts of which provide mechanical rigidity to the bones and teeth, where 99% of the body's calcium resides. The calcium in the skeleton has the additional role of acting as a reserve supply of calcium to meet the body's metabolic needs in states of calcium deficiency. Calcium deficiency is easily induced because of the obligatory losses of calcium via the bowel, kidneys, and skin. In growing animals, it may impair growth, delay consolidation of the skeleton, and in certain circumstances give rise to rickets but the latter is more often due to deficiency of vitamin D. In adult animals, calcium deficiency causes mobilization of bone and leads sooner or later to osteoporosis, i.e., a reduction in the "amount of bone in the bone" or apparent bone density. The effects of calcium deficiency and oophorectomy (ovariectomy) are additive. In humans, osteoporosis is a common feature of aging. Loss of bone starts in women at the time of the menopause and in men at about age 55 and leads to an increase in fracture rates in both sexes. Individual fracture risk is inversely related to bone density, which in turn is determined by the density achieved at maturity (peak bone density) and the subsequent rate of bone loss. At issue is whether either or both of these variables is related to calcium intake. The calcium requirement of adults may be defined as the mean calcium intake needed to preserve calcium balance, i.e., to meet the significant obligatory losses of calcium through the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, and skin. The calcium allowance is the higher intake recommended for a population to allow for individual variation in the requirement. The mean requirement defined in this way, calculated from balance studies, is about 20 mmol (800 mg) a day on Western diets, implying an allowance of 25 mmol (1000 mg) or more. Corresponding requirements and allowances have been calculated for pregnancy and lactation and for children and adolescents, taking into account the additional needs of the fetus, of milk production, and of growth. There is a rise in obligatory calcium excretion at menopause, which increases the theoretical calcium requirement in postmenopausal women to about 25 mmol (1000 mg) and implies an allowance of perhaps 30 mmol (1200 mg) or even more if calcium absorption declines at the same time. At issue here, however, is whether menopausal changes in calcium metabolism are the cause or the result of postmenopausal bone loss. The first interpretation relies on evidence of a positive action of estrogen on the gastrointestinal absorption and renal tubular reabsorption of calcium; the latter interpretation relies on evidence of a direct inhibitory effect of estrogen on bone resorption. The calcium model for postmenopausal bone loss tends to be supported by the effect of calcium therapy. An analysis of the 20 major calcium trials in postmenopausal women reported in the last 20 years yielded a mean rate of bone loss of 1.00% per annum (p.a.) in the controls and 0.014% p.a. (NS) in the treated subjects (P < 0.001). However, trials in which calcium and estrogen have been directly compared have shown that the latter is generally more effective than calcium in that it produces a small, but often significant bone gain. This superiority of estrogen over calcium could be due to the former's dual action on calcium absorption and excretion or to a direct action of estrogen on bone itself. In older women, the importance of calcium intake is overshadowed by the strong association between vitamin D insufficiency and hip fracture. Whether this insufficiency arises primarily from lack of exposure to sunlight or to a progressive failure to activate the vitamin D precursor in the skin or both is uncertain but it is compounded by a general decline in dietary vitamin D intake with age. The biological effect is probably an impairment of calcium absorption and c     

Impact of a counseling outreach workshop on vocational development.

Studied the effects of a structured life-planning workshop geared to outreach or preventative vocational counseling on the career decisions of 64 male undergraduates. Behavioral and attitudinal measures derived from a career process model of career development were examined. Significant differences between experimental and control groups were found on behavioral measures of pre-post changes in information seeking, the total number of occupations Ss were considering, and the congruence of these alternatives with their measured interests. No changes were found in attitudes about choosing a career or perceptions of strengths and weaknesses. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)