Is it reality or an illusion that liquid-based cytology is better than conventional cervical smears?
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Female↗
Biomedical subjects
J Linder
Publications and source records attributed to J Linder.
A new hydrostatic anti-G suit vs. a pneumatic anti-G system: preliminary comparison.
HYPOTHESIS: A newly developed hydrostatic anti-G suit is now commercially available. The suit is said to offer a high level of protection against +Gz acceleration. However, past experience shows that it is difficult to produce a hydrostatic suit with effective high-G protection. Careful testing is, therefore, needed to verify its efficacy. METHODS: The G-protective properties of the hydrostatic anti-G suit (Libelle; L) were compared with those of a pneumatic anti-G ensemble (AGE-39) used in the Swedish JAS 39 Cripen aircraft. Three pilots were studied during vertical (+Gz) acceleration in a centrifuge using the following: 1) the L-suit with varied straining maneuvers; 2) the AGE-39 in combination with full anti-G straining maneuvers (AGSM) throughout each high-G exposure (full maneuver; FM); and 3) the AGE-39 in combination with AGSM during the initial part of each high-G exposure (reduced maneuver; RM). G-intensity tolerance was established during exposures to rapid onset rate (ROR) profiles with G-plateau levels ranging from +6.0 to +9.0 Gz. G-endurance was studied during simulated aerial combat maneuvers (SACM) consisting of 10 cycles of 5.5 to 7.5 G. RESULTS: All three pilots tolerated 9.0 G with the pneumatic system both in the RM and FM conditions; their tolerances averaged 6.3 G (range 6.0 to 7.0 G) for the L suit. Thus, during the ROR exposures only the 6.0 G profile was completed by all subjects in all three conditions. At this G-load both muscle straining (as indicated by electromyographic activity in thigh and abdomen) and heart rate were higher in the L than in the RM condition. Mean arterial pressure at eye level was higher in the FM than in the L and RM conditions. Only one subject was able to complete the SACM profile in the L condition. In the RM condition all subjects completed the SACM profile and in the FM condition two subjects completed the SACM. CONCLUSIONS: Whether the AGE-39 was used in combination with maximal AGSM throughout the duration of each high-G exposure or with AGSM only during the initial part of the high-G exposure, G-intensity tolerance was 9.0 G. While wearing the L-suit, G-tolerance was 6.3 G. Thus, under the conditions tested, the G-protection afforded by the L-suit is not adequate for use in a 9-G aircraft.
Acceleration↗
Mobility, muscular strength and endurance in the cervical spine in Swedish Air Force pilots.
PURPOSE: Muscle strength, endurance and range of movement of the cervical spine in a group of Swedish Air Force jet pilots (AF) and in a reference group of conscripts doing their military service (RG) were compared. METHODS: We tested 30 (AF) 24-42 yr and 33 (RG) 19-22 yr. A questionnaire was used to document complaints. Maximum voluntary isometric muscle strength of the flexor and extensor muscles of the cervical spine and sub-maximum isometric endurance in the flexor and extensor muscles were measured. RESULTS: Eleven AF (37%) and four RG (12%) had experienced discomfort in the neck within the previous year. The pilots' flexor and extensor muscle strength (47 Nm and 65 Nm) was superior to that of the conscripts (36 Nm and 59 Nm) (p = 0.0001, p = < 0.05, respectively). However, the RG group had greater isometric endurance in the flexor muscles than AF (p = < 0.05) and greater neck rotation (p = <0.005). There was no difference between the two groups in the other variables. CONCLUSION: Differences between the groups with regard to muscle strength and endurance might depend on variations in work-related physical muscle strain, and/or differences in fiber composition in the muscles, which might be reflected by pilot selection procedures.
Adult↗
Cervical spine degeneration in fighter pilots and controls: a 5-yr follow-up study.
At 5 yr after MRI of the cervical spine, for evaluation concerning degenerative lesions, follow-up MRI was performed on asymptomatic experienced military high performance aircraft pilots (mean age 47 yr; mean accumulated flying time 3,100 h) and on age-matched controls without military flying experience. Young military high performance aircraft pilots (mean age 28 yr, mean accumulated flying time 915 h) were also re-examined. Compared with baseline MRI 5 yr earlier, there was significant increase in disk protrusions in all groups, in osteophytes in controls, and in foraminal stenoses in experienced pilots, and a significant reduction in disk signal intensity in young pilots. The difference between experienced pilots and controls was markedly reduced compared with that at baseline MRI. Thus, military high performance aircraft pilots seem to be at increased risk of premature development of degenerative lesions of the same type as are seen in an aging population. With increasing age the difference between pilots and controls diminishes.
Adult↗
Does personality or psychopathology predict disability in chronic pain patients?
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of personality characteristics, depression and personality disorders in predicting disability status in pain patients one year later. METHOD: Subjects were 250 volunteer chronic pain patients. The baseline evaluation consisted of the Karolinska Scales of Personality and psychiatric evaluation of depression and personality disorders using standardized diagnostic instruments. Disability status was assessed by insurance record review one year after the evaluation. RESULTS: The results suggest that baseline personality traits and psychopathology (i.e. depression or personality disorders) were not useful predictors of disability status in pain patients with one-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that personality characteristics and psychopathology are probably not important disability predictors in chronic pain patients.
Adult↗
Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP): construction, internal consistency and normative data.
OBJECTIVE: A thorough revision of the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP) was made by reducing the number of items and improving the psychometric quality as concerns face validity, internal consistency and response differentiation. The revised version was labelled The Swedish universities Scales of Personality (SSP) and now include 91 items divided into 13 scales. METHOD: The SSP were evaluated in a normative, randomly drawn sample (n = 741). All scales were found to be approximately normally distributed. RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from 0.59 to 0.84. The mean inter-item correlations (MIIC) ranged from 0.17 to 0.43. The scale intercorrelation matrix yielded a three-factor solution with Factor 1 reflecting Neuroticism; Factor 2 Aggressiveness; and Factor 3 reflecting Extraversion. CONCLUSION: The original KSP scales were revised, shortened, modernized and psychometrically evaluated. The psychometric properties and the usefulness of the test battery were found to be substantially improved.
Adult↗
Time to re-evaluate golden standards?
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Chronic Disease↗
Lung cancer cytology. Something old, something new.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Carcinoma, Small Cell↗
Comparing liquid-based, thin-layer preparation devices.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Europe↗
Personality and the prediction of weight loss and relapse in the treatment of obesity.
OBJECTIVE: This prospective study examined whether stable personality traits, as measured by the Karolinska Scales of Personality (KSP), predicted initial weight loss or long-term maintenance in obesity patients. METHOD: The KSP was administered to 102 obese patients prior to entering an 8-week weight loss program. Patients were weighed again at the end of treatment and at 3- and 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: The KSP did not predict initial weight loss after the 8-week program. Several of the KSP scales (Muscle Tension, Monotony Avoidance, Suspicion, and Guilt) had weak associations with 12-month relapse status. Weight gain at the 3-month follow-up was the strongest predictor of 12-month relapse status (O.R. = 0.46; 95% C.I. = 0.32, 0.66). DISCUSSION: Personality traits, as measured by the KSP, do not appear to be important predictors of initial weight loss or 12-month relapse status. Personality assessment may not substantially contribute to predicting treatment outcome in obesity research.
Adult↗
MRI cervical spine findings in asymptomatic fighter pilots.
MRI of the cervical spine for evaluation concerning degenerative lesions was performed on asymptomatic experienced military high performance aircraft pilots (mean age 42 yr with mean accumulated flying time of 2600 h), and for comparison on age-matched controls without military flying experience. Young military high performance aircraft pilots (mean age 23 yr with 220 h of flying per person) were also examined. There were significantly more osteophytes, disk protrusions, compressions of the spinal cord and foraminal stenoses in the experienced pilots than in the age-matched controls. Low frequency of low grade degenerative lesions was found in the young and inexperienced pilots.
Adult↗
Diagnosis of invasive cervical carcinoma with fluid-based, thin-layer slide preparation method.
Objectives: Although the main role of the Papanicolaou smear is to detect precursors of cervical cancer, the detection of invasive disease is important to identify women at the earliest stage of their disease. This study assesses the ability of the ThinPrep Papanicolaou test to identify invasive cervical cancer as compared to the Papanicolaou smear.Methods: A meta-analysis of five studies previously reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration was performed. There were 61 cases of cervical carcinoma processed by both conventional Papanicolaou smear and ThinPrep methods. Each case was reviewed by cytotechnologists and cytopathologists without knowledge of prior diagnoses. In a sub-study, the filtrate resulting from the preparation of the ThinPrep was analyzed to determine if diagnostic cells passed through the filter membrane.Results: With the ThinPrep method, a diagnosis of cancer was made in 54 cases (88.5%) as compared to a diagnosis of cancer in 52 of these cases with the conventional Papanicolaou smear method (85.2%). In those cases where diagnosis of invasive cancer was not made with the ThinPrep method, all cases were classified as abnormal, ranging from atypical glandular cells of undetermined significance to high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. The ThinPrep slides contained tumor diathesis and other contextual clues. Analysis of the ThinPrep filtrate demonstrated that cancer cells did not pass through the filter.Conclusions: These studies indicate that the ThinPrep method is at least equivalent to the conventional Papanicolaou smear method for the demonstration of squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and other cervical malignancies. Diagnostically important cells are not lost through the filter membrane during the preparation of the ThinPrep slide, because they are larger than the 8 µm pore size of the filter.
Journal Article↗
Recent advances in thin-layer cytology.
In recent years liquid-based cytology has emerged as an alternative to conventional cytopreparatory methods. In particular, the ThinPrep system has found broad acceptance in non-gynecologic cytopreparation. Many laboratories have successfully applied this technique to body fluids (e.g. urine, pleural effusions), brushing samples (e.g. gastrointestinal tract, lung) and fine-needle aspiration. Most comparative studies have shown the ThinPrep system to perform as well as or better than conventional preparations in nongynecologic cytology; plus, the residual cells within the vial can be used for DNA analysis or immunohistochemical and other special studies. Recently, the ThinPrep 2000 system has been approved for use in gynecologic cytology. This approval was based on a large, multicenter clinical study that showed the ThinPrep system to be favored over the conventional Pap smear for the detection of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, or more severe lesions. At screening centers the improved rate of detecting low grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) or more severe diagnosis was up to 73%, with an average improvement of 65% as compared to the conventional Pap smears. Also, for specimen adequacy, the ThinPrep method was statistically favored over conventional cytology methods. This multicenter clinical trial demonstrates the ThinPrep 2000 system was more effective than the conventional Pap smear for the detection of atypical cells and cervical cancer and its precursor lesions. In addition, by collecting cells in a liquid-based medium the opportunity is present to improve the Pap test by adjunctive testing for Human Papilloma Virus or other procedures. This creates the opportunity for improved triage and management of patients with cervical abnormalities.
Biopsy, Needle↗
D4 dopamine receptor gene exon III polymorphism and obesity risk.
Many genes have been identified that may play a role in increasing individual susceptibility to obesity. Reduced dopamine function appears to play a role in dysfunctional eating patterns and may predispose some individuals to obesity. The long version of the D4 dopamine receptor gene (D4DR) has been shown to alter receptor function and reduce intracellular response to dopamine. It also has been associated with novelty-seeking-related personality traits that are found with greater frequency in obese individuals. We examined the association between the long alleles of the D4DR and obesity in a sample of 115 obese patients participating in a weight management program. No direct relationship was found between the D4DR and body mass or novelty-seeking-related personality traits. We constructed four models of increased obesity risk that included combinations of traditional risk factors (i.e., long-term history of obesity, parental obesity, a body mass index > 40) and elevations on the novelty-seeking-related scales of the Karolinska Scales of Personality. There was a significant increase in the frequency of the D4DR long alleles in individuals defined as high risk using the combination of novelty-seeking-related personality traits, severe obesity (i.e., BMI > 40), and any other traditional risk factor, but not with the traditional risk factors alone. These preliminary data suggest a potential role for the D4DR gene in increasing obesity susceptibility.
Adult↗
Do arthralgias occur after bilio-intestinal bypass for morbid obesity.
BACKGROUND: Intestinal bypass operations are used occasionally for treating morbid obesity if other methods are unsuitable. Jejuno-ileal bypass (JIB) operations are considered to be a cause of occasional joint pain related disorders. However, bilio-intestinal bypass (BIB) is intended to avoid the blind loop syndrome. This study compared joint pain disorders in an operated BIB group, an obese nonoperated control group, and a lean reference group. METHODS: Using a questionnaire in a cross-sectional study, pain disorders were investigated in age-, sex- and weight-matched groups of operated, obese and lean subjects. The operated group had previously had a BIB and was matched using the preoperative BMI (body mass index, kg/m2). RESULTS: Mean time since operation was 12.4 years (SD 3.4) and the BIB group had lost 15.2 kg/m2 compared with the obese control group. These two groups had a high frequency of pain disorders of similar distribution, differing significantly from the lean reference group. No evidence of major differences in the type of pain disorders could be seen in the two groups. CONCLUSION: Pain disorder was an integral part of an obese syndrome, and was not affected significantly by weight reduction after BIB. The study appears to support the view that approximately 4% of patients develop arthritis vasculitis syndrome after BIB.
Adult↗
ThinPrep Papanicolaou testing to reduce false-negative cervical cytology.
The false-negative Papanicolaou (Pap) smear is the major quality issue currently facing the practitioners of diagnostic cytology. Failure to detect cervical disease in women can be due either to sampling error or to screening error. Sampling errors account for the majority of false-negative Pap tests; the remainder are due to the cervical abnormality either not being detected or not being properly classified during microscopic screening. The ThinPrep Pap test was recently cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration as significantly more effective than the conventional Pap smear and as a replacement for the conventional method of Pap smear preparation. The ThinPrep Pap test increases detection of squamous intraepithelial lesions and significantly improves specimen quality. These features of the ThinPrep Pap test also have a heretofore unreported direct effect on the false-negative rate of the Pap examination. In two recently conducted clinical trials, the ThinPrep test resulted in a significant reduction in the sampling false-negative rate in women undergoing routine Pap screening. In addition, screening false negatives, as expressed by the false-negative proportion, were reduced from 5.6% with the conventional Pap smear, to 2.2% with the ThinPrep Pap test. More high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions were detected in the screening populations with the ThinPrep test. The ThinPrep Pap test improves the quality of cervical cancer screening through a reduction in false-negative Pap examinations. This improvement has important implications for women undergoing Pap screening and for those who practice gynecologic cytopathology.
False Negative Reactions↗
Low-level chromosome 12 amplification in a primary lipoma of the lung: evidence for a pathogenetic relationship with common adipose tissue tumors.
Cytogenetic analysis of a primary lipoma of the lung removed from a 56-year-old woman revealed the presence of a supernumerary marker chromosome in all metaphase cells analyzed; namely, 47,XX,+mar. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first cytogenetic description of a primary lipoma of lung. Genetic analysis of intramuscular lipoma, atypical lipoma, and well-differentiated liposarcoma have revealed the presence of one to three supernumerary ring or giant marker chromosomes composed of chromosome 12 segments as the characteristic anomaly. The marker chromosome in the present case was shown to be composed entirely of chromosome 12 material by subsequent analysis with a chromosome 12-specific paint probe and fluorescence in situ hybridization. Thus, analogous to intramuscular lipoma, atypical lipoma, and well-differentiated liposarcoma, extra chromosome 12 material is present. These findings support a pathogenetic relationship between this lipoma of unusual anatomic location and common adipose tissue tumors.
Chromosome Aberrations↗
Identification of isoforms of the exocytosis-sensitive phosphoprotein PP63/parafusin in Paramecium tetraurelia and demonstration of phosphoglucomutase activity.
PP63 (parafusin) is a 63 kDa phosphoprotein which is very rapidly (within 80 ms) dephosphorylated (to P63) during triggered trichocyst exocytosis; this occurs selectively in exocytosis-competent Paramecium tetraurelia strains. In the present work, two cDNAs coding for PP63/parafusin have been isolated, one of which is a new isoform. These isoforms are 99.6% identical and are derived from two different genes. Similarity searches revealed 43-51% identity of the deduced amino acid sequences with known phosphoglucomutases from yeast and mammals. The sequences of two proteolytic peptides obtained from PP63/parafusin isolated from Paramecium are identical to parts of the amino acid sequence deduced from the major cDNA. The major cDNA was mutated from the macronuclear ciliate genetic code into the universal genetic code and expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein shows the same biochemical and immunological characteristics as the (P)P63/parafusin originally isolated from Paramecium. It has the same specific phosphoglucomutase activity as phosphoglucomutase from chicken muscle. We also show that recombinant P63-1 parafusin 1 is a substrate of an endogenous casein kinase from Paramecium, as is the originally isolated P63/parafusin. Polyclonal antibodies against recombinant P63-1/parafusin 1 were raised which recognized phosphoglucomutases from different sources. Thus we show that PP63/parafusin and phosphoglucomutase in Paramecium are identical.
Amino Acid Sequence↗