Smoking cessation with alternative methods

Almost every former smoker has ceased smoking by himself. Everybody has collected his own experience with it and tried different methods to avoid withdrawal symptoms and the urge to start smoking again. During the last decades, many different methods for the therapy of smoking cessation have been applied. These techniques were often developed with the help of individual experiences. Many times, there is a lack of a scientific ground and verifiable investigations for these activities. The most important parameter for the smoking cessation is the clear and strong intention to quit. This intention may be supported by different methods. The mental requirements are discussed and the numerous methods and drugs available to quit smoking are described.     

Cell recognition, signal induction, and symmetrical gene activation at the dorsal-ventral boundary of the developing Drosophila wing

Appendage formation in insects and vertebrates depends upon signals from both the anterior-posterior and dorsal-ventral (DV) axes. In Drosophila, wing formation is organized symmetrically around the DV boundary of the growing wing imaginal disc and requires interactions between dorsal and ventral cells. Compartmentalization of the wing disc, dorsal cell behavior, and the expression of two dorsally expressed putative signaling molecules, fringe (fng) and Serrate (Ser), are regulated by the apterous selector gene. Here, we demonstrate that fng and Ser have distinct roles in a novel cell recognition and signal induction process. fng serves as a boundary-determining molecule such that Ser is induced wherever cells expressing fng and cells not expressing fng are juxtaposed. Ser in turn triggers the expression of genes involved in wing growth and patterning on both sides of the DV boundary.     

Immunodiagnostic studies on Onchocerca volvulus and Mansonella perstans infections using a recombinant 33 kDa O. volvulus protein (Ov33)

A total detergent-soluble extract of adult female Onchocerca volvulus (OvAg) and a recombinant O. volvulus protein (Ov33) linked to glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were compared with regard to their serodiagnostic suitability for differentiating between O. volvulus and Mansonella perstans infections in a region endemic for both filarial worms in western Uganda. Using OvAg in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), 98.8% sensitivity was obtained examining 84 O. volvulus microfilariae (mf) carriers living in the hyperendemic area. However, 5 of 18 (28%) sera from M. perstans mf carriers without O. volvulus mf, from another area hypoendemic for O. volvulus, cross-reacted with OvAg. Using the recombinant antigen Ov33-GST in an ELISA and Western blot assay, sensitivity for O. volvulus remained high (97.2% and 98.8% respectively) while none of 90 sera from M. perstans mf carriers reacted positively. Both antigens were used to examine a batch of sera from 260 persons living in the onchocerciasis hyperendemic area who did not have mf in their skin snips (9.5% of 2728 persons examined); 116 of these sera (44.6%) were positive in the OvAg ELISA, compared to 85 (32.7%) and 69 (26.5%) which were positive in Ov33-GST ELISA and Ov33-GST Western blot, respectively. Reaction with GST alone was minimal. The recombinant antigen Ov33 efficiently differentiates between O. volvulus and M. perstans infections, and is sensitive when used to detect patent and prepatent or low-level O. volvulus infections.     

A case-control study of traffic risk factors and child pedestrian injury

BACKGROUND: Pedestrian injuries in children constitute an important cause of mortality and morbidity. Specific hazards which contribute to these injuries need to be identified to enable the development of preventive strategies. METHODS: A population-based case-control study was conducted in which 40 aspects of traffic and road environment that contribute to the likelihood of childhood pedestrian injury were examined. The factors of interest were measured at 100 places of injury and 200 control sites between December 1991 and December 1993. RESULTS: The volume of traffic (odds ratio [OR] = 2.16 for an increase of 100 vehicles per hour) in combination with the proportion of vehicles exceeding the speed limit (OR = 1.04) for each 1% increase in average speed, and the presence of footpaths (OR = 11.0) were associated with significant increase in the risk of injury. A graded inverse relationship was present between socioeconomic status and the odds of pedestrian injury. CONCLUSIONS: These findings have obvious implications for public health as features of the physical environment are potentially modifiable.     

Protective effects of interferon-gamma in intraocular herpes simplex type 1 infection do not depend on major histocompatibility complex class I or class II expression

Intraocular infection with herpes simplex virus type I strain F (HSV-1) induces bilateral retinitis, the expression of both MHC class I and II molecules and activation of CD4 and CD8 cells. To investigate the role of MHC upregulation in IFN-gamma mediated antiviral effects in intraocular infection with HSV-1, we infected MHC deficient mice and mice with an additional ectopic site of IFN-gamma production in their retina (rho gamma) intravitreally with HSV-1 into one eye. Protective effects of IFN-gamma in intraocular HSV-1 infection were notable as sparing of the contralateral non-inoculated eye from retinitis, and were not dependent on MHC class I and class II expression, thus limiting the importance of MHC expression for the outcome of viral infection in vivo.     

Reducing inequities through participatory research and community empowerment

PURPOSE: To analyze the indocyanine green angiographic findings of drusen in the early stages of age-related macular degeneration. METHODS: Sixty-nine eyes of 53 consecutive patients with drusen but without exudative complications of age-related macular degeneration were studied. Drusen were classified into four groups: hard drusen, drusen derived from clusters of hard drusen (hard cluster-derived drusen and soft cluster-derived drusen), membranous drusen, and regressing drusen. An additional category was constituted by reticular pseudodrusen that could be associated with drusen of either the inner or outer macula. Results of contact lens biomicroscopy and fluorescein angiography were compared with findings on indocyanine green angiography. RESULTS: Hard drusen, either isolated hard drusen or hard cluster-derived drusen, were hyperfluorescent during indocyanine green angiography; in contrast, all sizes of soft drusen derived from clusters of hard drusen were hypofluorescent throughout the angiogram. Membranous drusen, visible on biomicroscopy and fluorescein angiography, were not visible during indocyanine green angiography. Regressing drusen may have showed hyperfluorescence at the early stages of indocyanine green angiography, but associated calcium and pigmentation were hypofluorescent. Reticular pseudodrusen were visible on red-free photographs; on midphase and late-phase indocyanine green angiography using the scanning laser ophthalmoscope only, reticular pseudodrusen were seen as a pattern of hypofluorescent dots. CONCLUSION: The indocyanine green angiographic findings add to and support the clinicopathologic classification of drusen. Indocyanine green angiography may help to distinguish the different types of drusen and may thus be of use in evaluating the risk of progressive age-related macular degeneration in patients with drusen.     

Endo-neuro-sonography: principles of 3-D technique

To evaluate the usefulness of transendoscopic sonography we studied two new sono probes 6 F in diameter in 17 fresh specimens. We saw precise imaging of well-known anatomical structures and also gained an additional dimension in endoscopy, as the sono adds to the endo-view a transverse scan like a mini-CT at the tip of the probe. We also experienced the navigation characteristic of this imaging technique, both in real time and on line. Some 3-D reconstructions of the ventricular system were examined. The equipment has been used in clinical practice and must now be adapted for neurosurgery.