Use of spiral computed tomography for multiplanar dental reconstruction

This was a community-based study to evaluate the prevalence and characteristics of female urinary incontinence in women aged 18 and above in the Shatin District of Hong Kong. Of a total of 1018 female households contacted, 362 individuals were successfully interviewed and 123 women (34%) reported they had experienced at least one episode of urinary incontinence as adults. Of these, 18.5% reported persistent incontinence and 15.5% reported absence of incontinence after a single episode of urine loss. The risk factors for incontinence revealed by this study were body mass index and parity. Women who had never been incontinent had a lower body mass index and were usually nulliparous. Most of the respondents (43.9%) who had urinary incontinence considered the condition to be a minor problem and did not seek professional advice. This investigation indicates that a territory-wide study should be carried out to determine the incidence of urinary incontinence throughout Hong Kong.     

Incidence of acute symptomatic toxoplasma retinochoroiditis in south London according to country of birth

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of acute symptomatic toxoplasma retinochoroiditis presenting to ophthalmologists for patients born in Britain and elsewhere. DESIGN: Population based, cross sectional study. SETTING: 11 districts in south Greater London. SUBJECTS: All patients presenting to NHS ophthalmologists with symptoms due to acute toxoplasma retinochoroiditis in 1992-3. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Intraocular inflammation in association with a retinochoroidal scar, active adjoining retinitis, and IgG serum antibodies to toxoplasma. RESULTS: The estimated incidence of acute symptomatic retinochoroiditis for all people born in Britain was 0.4/100,000/year. If a mean of two symptomatic episodes per lifetime is assumed, 100 people born in Britain may be affected each year, about a fifth of the estimated 500-600 congenitally infected people born each year. CONCLUSIONS: A substantial proportion of people with acute symptomatic toxoplasma retinochoroiditis were born outside the country, and the number born in Britain was smaller than the number previously estimated to develop retinochoroidal lesions due to congenital toxoplasmosis. These findings suggest that prenatal screening for toxoplasmosis in Britain may be of limited benefit.     

Regulatorische Maßnahmen zur Reduktion von anthropogenen Spurenstoffen

The EU Water Framework Directive introduced, inter alia, a European strategy for combating water pollution. A core element of the strategy is its combined approach, which calls for the application of emission-related limitations for discharges as well as the derivation of environmental quality standards which need to be complied with after dilution in the receiving water body. With the adoption of the EU regulations REACH and CLP a new framework for the European chemicals policy was established in recent years, a core element of which is the obligation for all those who manufacture or import more than one tonne of chemicals per year to register the substances and to provide comprehensive data on their safe use. This data, as well as the policy instruments under REACH (e.g. authorization and restriction), are now available to support all environmental sectors, in particular the water sector, and will hopefully help to achieve the goals of the strategy against water pollution.     

Comparative pulmonary absorption, distribution, and toxicity of copper gallium diselenide, copper indium diselenide, and cadmium telluride in Sprague-Dawley rats

Copper gallium diselenide (CGS), copper indium diselenide (CIS), and cadmium telluride (CdTe) are novel compounds used in the photovoltaic and semiconductor industries. This study was conducted to characterize the relative toxicities of these compounds and to evaluate the pulmonary absorption and distribution after intratracheal instillation. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were administered a single equimolar dose (70 mM) of CGS (21 mg/kg), CIS (24 mg/kg), CdTe (17 mg/kg), or saline by intratracheal instillation. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) protein, fibronectin, inflammatory cells, lung hydroxyproline, and tissue distribution were measured 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days after instillation. Relative lung weights were significantly increased in CIS- and CdTe-treated rats at most time points. Inflammatory lesions in the lungs consisting of an influx of macrophages, lymphocytes, and PMNs were most severe in CdTe-treated rats, intermediate in CIS-treated rats, and minimal in rats receiving CGS. Hyperplasia of alveolar type 2 cells was present in CIS- and CdTe-treated rats and was greatest in CdTe-treated rats. Pulmonary interstitial fibrosis was observed in CdTe-treated rats at all time points. All three compounds caused marked increases in total BALF cell numbers, with the greatest increase observed in CIS-treated rats. BALF protein, fibronectin, and lung hydroxyproline were significantly increased in all treated animals and were highest in CdTe-treated animals. There was no apparent pulmonary absorption or tissue distribution of CGS. Indium levels increased in extrapulmonary tissues of CIS-treated rats, although Cu and Se levels remained unchanged. CdTe was absorbed from the lung to a greater extent than CGS and CIS. Cd and Te levels decreased in the lung and increased in extrapulmonary tissues. Of these compounds CdTe presents the greatest potential health risk because it causes severe pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis and because it is readily absorbed from the lung may potentially cause extrapulmonary toxicity.     

The call of the sirens: ethically navigating the sea of nonvalidated therapies

SHP-2 is an ubiquitously expressed cytosolic protein tyrosine phosphatase composed of two amino-terminal SH2 domains, a central phosphatase domain and a carboxy-terminal tail. Upon activation of cells with different stimuli, SHP-2 is recruited to the plasma membrane where it can associate with a number of tyrosine phosphorylated molecules, including receptor tyrosine kinases (e.g. growth factor receptors), multisite adapter proteins and cell adhesion molecules. SHP-2 is thought to function as a positive mediator of signals generated by activated membrane receptor complexes although the number and diversity of binding partners and substrates identified thus far suggests that it may have other functions. It is likely that several negative regulatory influences exist but that these are obscured by its positive function making the investigation of the inhibitory effects of this phosphatase difficult. The positive regulatory role of SHP-2 in signal cascades leading to cell growth suggests involvement in tumorigenesis, raising the possibility that SHP-2 may be a target in the treatment of some forms of cancer.