Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

J Crane

Publications and source records attributed to J Crane.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Occupational asthma cases notified to OSH from 1996 to 1999.

AIMS: To update notifications to the Occupational Safety and Health Service of the Department of Labour (OSH) Notifiable Occupational Disease System (NODS) from June 1996 to the beginning of 1999. METHODS: All notifications received for non-asbestos related occupational respiratory disease were reviewed to confirm the clinical diagnosis, occupational causation, and to identify the causative agent where possible. RESULTS: 54 cases of asthma were notified, of which 21 (39%) were accepted as being occupationally caused. These cases arose from 'predictable' industries. CONCLUSIONS: NODS offers sentinel data from interested practitioners and workplaces. Occupational asthma and other occupational respiratory diseases remain poorly notified to this system. NODS confirms the presence of occupational asthma in New Zealand from predictable and preventable causes not dissimilar to other countries. This data collection system needs supplementation by other mechanisms.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Prevalence and etiology of asthma.

An increased understanding of the causes of asthma is coming from the international comparisons of asthma prevalence, particularly those from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey of asthma prevalence in adults and the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood. From these and other studies of asthma prevalence, it is possible to draw some tentative conclusions as to the patterns of asthma prevalence worldwide. There are five striking patterns: first, asthma prevalence is increasing worldwide; second, asthma is generally more common in Western countries and less common in developing countries; third, asthma is more prevalent in English-speaking countries; fourth, asthma prevalence is increasing in developing countries as they become more Westernized or communities become urbanized; and fifth, the prevalence of other allergic disorders may also be increasing worldwide. These five key features of the international patterns of asthma prevalence raise major questions about the role of "established" risk factors for the development of asthma. As a result, recent research has expanded to include the study of novel factors that may "program" the initial susceptibility to sensitization or contribute to the development of asthma independent of atopic sensitization. These include various exposures in utero, which are reflected in various perinatal factors measured at birth, and exposures (or lack of exposures) in the early years of life that may make the infant more susceptible to the subsequent development of asthma. These issues are now the focus of an intensive research effort worldwide, and the next few years are likely to see exciting advances in our understanding of the causes of asthma.

Asthma↗
PubMed2000

Open houses and closed rooms: Tokelau housing in New Zealand.

The migrant Tokelau community in New Zealand, through the Wellington Tokelau Association, is playing an active role in partnership with the Wellington School of Medicine to develop a research program to help improve the health of its people. The relationship between crowded homes and health was investigated in six focus groups. While cultural patterns were an essential part of Tokelau hospitality, the decision to "double up" households was often the result of "rational" economic decision making in relation to household expenditures such as rent and food. The implication for public health practitioners is that while overcrowding may be a health hazard for residents, the most effective solutions by the community are higher household income and more flexible housing designs that accommodate multifamily households.

Asian↗
PubMed1999

A cognitive activation study of memory for spatial relationships.

Twelve neurologically normal right-handed subjects were asked to remember the locations of eight representational drawings, presented one at a time, together with two landmarks (white squares), on a computer screen. Subjects were then scanned using positron emission tomography (PET) while performing forced-choice recognition of object location in four conditions, using either the original landmarks or two of the other objects as cues. In two conditions, the absolute location of the objects was unchanged from the time of encoding (fixed-array conditions), whereas in the other two, the location of the objects was shifted, although the spatial relationship among the objects and landmarks was maintained (shifted-array conditions). Subjects were also scanned in a control condition that made the same perceptual and motor demands as the recognition tasks but that had no mnemonic component. Compared to the control condition, all of the recognition tasks activated both the dorsal and ventral visual pathways bilaterally, but with notable asymmetries. In particular, activation in the right, but not left, inferior temporal gyrus (area 37) was observed when both shifted-array conditions were compared to their respective cue-matched fixed-array conditions. The recognition conditions with landmark cues were associated with focal increases in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the region of the right parahippocampal gyrus. The results support previous reports of involvement of the right mesial temporal region in object-location memory tasks, and suggest that right inferotemporal cortex is involved in extracting the invariant relational features of a visual scene.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Beta-agonists: what is the evidence that their use increases the risk of asthma morbidity and mortality?

In this article, studies that have examined the effects on morbidity and mortality of beta-agonist drugs are reviewed. With regard to morbidity, there is considerable evidence that the regular use of beta-agonist drugs as a class could potentially lead to worsening asthma control because of the effects on bronchial hyperresponsiveness, the development of tolerance and reduced protection against provoking stimuli, an increased allergen load, and masking of the symptoms of deteriorating asthma. Despite these effects, the short-acting beta-agonist drugs albuterol and terbutaline and the long-acting beta-agonist drugs salmeterol and formoterol have, in general, not been associated with a significant worsening of asthma control or an increased frequency of severe attacks. In contrast, there is evidence that the regular use of isoproterenol and fenoterol may lead to worsening asthma control. With regard to deaths, available evidence indicates that the high-dose preparations of isoproterenol and fenoterol are associated with increased mortality and were the major causes of the epidemics of asthma mortality observed in some countries. The increased risk of death associated with isoproterenol and fenoterol is probably the result of both long-term effects with their regular use leading to worsening asthma control and acute effects resulting from their overuse in the situation of a life-threatening attack of asthma. In contrast, the use of the short-acting beta-agonists albuterol and terbutaline is not associated with an increased risk of mortality. Although this lack of risk may also apply to formoterol and salmeterol, in the absence of sufficient studies specifically addressing the risk of death, this remains uncertain.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗
PubMed1999

The magnitude of the effect of smaller family sizes on the increase in the prevalence of asthma and hay fever in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.

BACKGROUND: Declining family size is one factor that has been proposed to contribute to increasing asthma and hay fever prevalence, but its relative importance has not been quantified. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine the change in asthma and hay fever prevalence that would be expected from the reduction in family size that has occurred in England/Wales and New Zealand over recent decades. METHODS: The relative change in family size between 1961 and 1991 in England/Wales and New Zealand was determined from census data for these years. Summary weighted odds ratios were calculated for the associations among birth order, family size, and asthma and hay fever prevalence. The expected increase in the prevalence of asthma and hay fever between 1961 and 1991 resulting from changes in family size was then calculated. RESULTS: The expected relative increase in the prevalence of asthma between 1961 and 1991 as a result of the smaller family size was 1% and 5% for England/Wales and New Zealand, respectively; smaller family size would be expected to increase the prevalence of hay fever prevalence in England/Wales by 4%. CONCLUSIONS: Changes in family size over the last 30 years do not appear to explain much of the reported increase in asthma or hay fever prevalence. The contribution that other risk factors have made to these increases could be assessed with use of a similar approach.

Asthma↗
PubMed1999

Worldwide variations in the prevalence of symptoms of atopic eczema in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the prevalence of atopic eczema outside Northern Europe. OBJECTIVES: We sought to describe the magnitude and variation in the prevalence of atopic eczema symptoms throughout the world. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on random samples of schoolchildren aged 6 to 7 years and 13 to 14 years from centers in 56 countries throughout the world. Those children with a positive response to being questioned about the presence of an itchy relapsing skin rash in the last 12 months that had affected their skin creases were considered to have atopic eczema. Children whose atopic eczema symptoms resulted in sleep disturbance for 1 or more nights per week were considered to have severe atopic eczema. RESULTS: Complete data was available for 256,410 children aged 6 to 7 years in 90 centers and 458,623 children aged 13 to 14 years in 153 centers. The prevalence range for symptoms of atopic eczema was from less than 2% in Iran to over 16% in Japan and Sweden in the 6 to 7 year age range and less than 1% in Albania to over 17% in Nigeria for the 13 to 14 year age range. Higher prevalences of atopic eczema symptoms were reported in Australasia and Northern Europe, and lower prevalences were reported in Eastern and Central Europe and Asia. Similar patterns were seen for symptoms of severe atopic eczema. CONCLUSIONS: Atopic eczema is a common health problem for children and adolescents throughout the world. Symptoms of atopic eczema exhibit wide variations in prevalence both within and between countries inhabited by similar ethnic groups, suggesting that environmental factors may be critical in determining disease expression. Studies that include objective skin examinations are required to confirm these findings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Indoor environment, atopy and the risk of the asthma in children in New Zealand.

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the indoor environment, atopy and asthma in 7-9-year-old children. Cases and controls were randomly selected from children who participated in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) in Wellington, New Zealand. Cases were children with a previous diagnosis of asthma and current medication use (n = 233) and controls were children with no history of wheezing and no diagnosis of asthma (n = 241). Information was recorded about the indoor environment during the first year of life and currently. Dust was sampled from floors and beds and Der p 1 and Fel d 1 measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Skin-prick tests were performed with eight common allergens. Sensitization to Dermatophagoides farinae (OR = 3.19; 95% CI 1.74-5.84), Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (OR = 2.06; 95% CI 1.16-3.65) and cat (OR = 3.89; 95% CI 1.06-14.30) were independently associated with current asthma. The use of a sheepskin in the first year of life (OR = 1.91; 95% CI 1.11-3.33) was also independently associated with current asthma but current Der p 1 levels showed no association with current asthma. Exposures in early life may be more important than current exposures in determining asthma at age 7-9 years. Prospective studies are needed in New Zealand to determine the relative importance of early life exposures to Der p 1 and other risk factors for asthma.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗
PubMed1999

House dust mite allergen (Der p 1) accumulation on new synthetic and feather pillows.

BACKGROUND: We have previously demonstrated that synthetic pillows contain significantly more Der p 1 than feather pillows. The aim of this study was to compare the accumulation of Der p 1 allergen on new synthetic and new feather pillows. METHODS: Der p 1 was measured in dust samples from pairs of synthetic and feather pillows placed together on 12 beds over a 12-month period. RESULTS: After 12 months synthetic pillows contained higher concentrations of Der p 1 (19.28 microg/g; 95% confidence interval: 9.76-38.07) than feather pillows (6.45 microg/g; 2.96-14.05). There was a significant correlation between Der p 1 concentrations of pillows at 12 months and Der p 1 concentrations of the mattresses at the beginning of the study (r = 0.72; P = 0.008 for both types of pillows). CONCLUSIONS: Synthetic pillows accumulate Der p 1 more rapidly than feather pillows and the accumulation rate of Der p 1 on pillows is governed by the Der p 1 concentration in the immediate environment they are placed in.

Allergens↗
PubMed1999

Antibiotic use in early childhood and the development of asthma.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Recent investigations have focused on the role of infections in infancy in promoting or protecting against the subsequent development of asthma. A related hypothesis concerns the possible role of medical responses to infections, including the widespread use of antibiotics. We chose children at Rudolf Steiner schools to test this latter hypothesis because a significant proportion of parents rejects the use of conventional treatments, including antibiotics. METHODS: Seventy-five per cent (n = 456) of parents of children aged 5-10 years attending Rudolf Steiner schools throughout New Zealand completed questionnaires which included questions on the use of antibiotics and a history of asthma and wheeze in their children. RESULTS: After controlling for potential confounders, antibiotic use was significantly associated with having a history of asthma (OR = 2.74, 95% CI: 1.10-6.85) or wheeze (OR = 1. 86, 95% CI: 1.06-3.26) but not with current wheeze (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.54-2-16). The adjusted odds ratio for asthma was 4.05 (95% CI: 1.55-10.59) if antibiotics were used in the first year of life and 1. 64 (95% CI: 0.60-4.46) if antibiotics had been used only after the first year of life when compared with children who had never used antibiotics. The number of courses of antibiotics during the first year of life was also associated with increased odds ratios for asthma: 2.27 (95% CI: 1.14-4.51) for one to two courses and 4.02 (95% CI: 1.57-10.31) for three or more courses when compared with no antibiotic use in the first year of life. Although not significant, the association of antibiotics and hay fever (OR = 1.99 [95% CI: 0. 93-4.26]) was of a similar strength to the association of antibiotics with a history of wheeze. Antibiotics were not significantly associated with eczema (OR = 1.23 [95% CI: 0.71-2.13]). CONCLUSION: Antibiotic use in infancy may be associated with an increased risk of developing asthma. Further study is required to determine the reasons for this association.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1999

Production and characterization of a soluble, active form of Tva, the subgroup A avian sarcoma and leukosis virus receptor.

The receptor for the subgroup A avian sarcoma and leukosis viruses [ASLV(A)] is the cellular glycoprotein Tva. A soluble form of Tva, sTva, was produced and purified with a baculovirus expression system. Using this system, 7 to 10 mg of purified sTva per liter of cultured Sf9 cells was obtained. Characterization of the carbohydrate modification of sTva revealed that the three N glycosylation sites in sTva were differentially utilized; however, the O glycosylation common to Tva produced in mammalian and avian cells was not observed. Purified sTva demonstrates significant biological activity, specifically blocking infection of avian cells by ASLV(A) with a 90% inhibitory concentration of approximately 25 pM. A quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, developed to assess the binding of sTva to ASLV envelope glycoprotein, demonstrates that sTva has a high affinity for EnvA, with an apparent dissociation constant of approximately 0.3 nM. Once they are bound, a very stable complex is formed between EnvA and sTva, with an estimated complex half-life of 6 h. The soluble receptor protein described here represents a valuable tool for analysis of the receptor-envelope glycoprotein interaction and for structural analysis of Tva.

Alpharetrovirus↗
PubMed1999

Family size, infections, and asthma prevalence in New Zealand children.

We conducted a prevalence case-control study to investigate the relation between family composition, infection, and development of asthma at age 7-9 years. Potential cases (399) and controls (398) were selected from the Wellington, NZ, arm of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, a population-based prevalence study. Further screening questions restricted cases to children with a diagnosis of asthma and current medication use (N = 233) and restricted controls to children without a history of wheezing and no diagnosis of asthma (N = 241). After controlling for confounders (including infections, atopy, and socioeconomic status), family size was strongly related to asthma. Having no siblings [prevalence odds ratio (POR) = 2.51; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.05-6.01] or one sibling (POR = 1.86; 95% CI = 1.14-3.03) was associated with an increased risk of asthma compared with having more than one sibling. Parent-reported rubeola infection (and possibly other similar viral exanthems) was independently associated with a decreased risk of asthma (POR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.27-0.83), but reported pertussis infection (POR = 1.57; 95% CI = 0.58-4.24) and day care attendance in the first year of life (POR = 1.81; 95% CI = 0.93-3.51) were not strongly associated with increased risks of asthma.

Asthma↗
PubMed1998

House dust mite allergen accumulation on sheepskins.

AIM: Sheepskins, which are often used as infant bedding in New Zealand, are known to harbour large quantities of house dust mites and their allergens. In this study we determined the rate of accumulation of the house dust mite allergen, Der p 1 on new sheepskins, and the effects of washing and dry cleaning on its removal. METHODS: New sheepskins were placed on living-room floors (n = 6) and mattresses (n = 6) in six domestic dwellings in Wellington. Sheepskin dust samples were collected by vacuuming before placement, and at two, four and six weeks, after which they were warm-washed. They were replaced for a further six weeks, then dry-cleaned. Dust samples were collected before and after washing and dry-cleaning, and from mattresses and living-room floors. Dust samples were analysed for Der p 1 by double monoclonal antibody ELISA. RESULTS: Der p 1 levels rapidly increased in sheepskins placed on living-room floors and mattresses to a geometric mean level (range) of 9.0 micrograms/g (1.1-102.2) and 29.4 micrograms/g (5.3-131.1) at six weeks, respectively. After warm-water washing and replacement for a further six weeks, these levels were higher at 75.5 micrograms/g (50.1-260.4) and 31.9 micrograms/g (11.1-75.2), respectively. Sheepskin Der p 1 accumulation correlated with mattress (r = 0.78), and living-room floor Der p 1 levels (r = 0.94). Warm water washing and dry-cleaning reduced sheepskins Der p 1 levels by a mean of 79.2% and 95.3%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Sheepskins rapidly accumulate house dust mite allergens from the domestic environment. Due to very high levels and rapid accumulation of Der p 1, sheepskins as infant bedding should be discouraged for infants at risk of sensitisation to house dust mites. If they are to be used then it is important that they are washed or dry-cleaned regularly.

Allergens↗
PubMed1998

Cat allergen levels in public places in New Zealand.

AIMS: Cat allergen (Fel d 1) is a known risk factor for asthma. Studies have demonstrated Fel d 1 in both public buildings and domestic dwellings where cats have never been. The aims of this study were to measure reservoir Fel d 1 levels in public buildings in New Zealand, to examine determinants of these levels and to compare them with previously measured domestic levels. METHODS: Dust was obtained in two centres (Wellington and Christchurch) from hotels, hospitals, rest homes, churches, primary schools, childcare centres, cinemas, bank head offices and aeroplanes; and from North Island ski lodges. Measurements of temperature and relative humidity were taken. Information was collected on building characteristics. Fel d 1 levels (microg/g of fine dust) for floors (n=203), beds (n=64) and seats (n=24) were expressed as geometric means (95% confidence intervals). RESULTS: Detectable Fel d 1 levels were found in 95% of floor samples, 91% of bed samples and 100% of seat samples. Fel d 1 levels [geometric mean (95% confidence intervals)] were significantly higher on cinema and domestic aircraft seats [36.8 (20.8-65.3) microg/g and 33.3 (28.0-39.7) microg/g respectively] than on floors [3.6 (2.5-5.1) microg/g and 2.4 (1.8-3.0) microg/g respectively]. Floor Fel d 1 levels in the public buildings sampled were lower than those of domestic dwellings without cats [0.9 (0.6-1.4) microg/g vs 1.7 (1.2-2.4)] microg/g in Wellington and [2.0 (1.6-2.6) microg/g vs 4.0 (2.7-6.0] microg/g in Christchurch. After controlling for potential confounders, floor Fel d 1 levels were higher with carpeted floors (p<0.001) and lower in banks and hospitals (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Fel d 1 levels in public buildings are low in New Zealand public places except for cinema and domestic aircraft seats where all but one sample had Fel d 1 levels potentially high enough to precipitate asthma symptoms in sensitised individuals.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗