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Biomedical subjects

J Olsen

Publications and source records attributed to J Olsen.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Pseudopregnancy induces the expression of hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 beta and its target gene aminopeptidase N in rabbit endometrium via the epithelial promoter.

The rabbit endometrium is an excellent model system allowing experimental manipulation of aminopeptidase N (APN) mRNA expression in vivo. By RNase mapping and sequencing of cloned PCR-amplified primer-extended RNA, it was demonstrated that endometrial APN expression is directed by the epithelial APN promoter and is increased in human-choriogonadotropin-induced pseudopregnancy. Cloning and sequencing of the rabbit APN epithelial promoter revealed conservation of the upstream footprint (UF), hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 (HNF1) and Sp1 elements known to be present in the pig and human promoters as well. The pseudopregnancy-induced APN expression was found to be accompanied by a parallel increase in the level of the transcription factor HNF1 beta, whereas a much smaller increase in Sp1 and UF-binding proteins was observed. This indicates that HNF1 beta acts as a switch triggering the pregnancy-induced APN expression. The sequence of the UF element suggests members of the nuclear hormone-receptor superfamily as possible UF-binding proteins, and competition experiments suggest that the chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor functions as such in the rabbit endometrium.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Absence of an environmental effect on the recurrence of facial-cleft defects.

BACKGROUND: The rate of recurrence of a broad range of birth defects may decrease among women who change residence after the birth of their first infant. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of changing residence on the recurrence of congenital facial-cleft defects. METHODS: We identified 4189 women who had infants with facial-cleft defects by linking a data base comprising the records of children with facial clefts born between 1952 and 1987 with the Central Person Registry in Denmark. Among the 4189 mothers, 1902 each had additional children after the first child with a facial-cleft defect. A total of 2692 younger siblings were identified. We compared the proportion of infants with facial-cleft defects among the younger siblings between mothers who had changed municipalities or sexual partners and those who had not. RESULTS: Changing the municipality of residence did not decrease the frequency with which facial-cleft defects recurred in younger siblings. Among the 907 infants of mothers who changed municipalities but not partners, 29 (3.2 percent) had facial-cleft defects, as compared with 48 (3.4 percent) of 1425 infants of mothers who changed neither municipality nor partner (relative risk, 0.9; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.6 to 1.5). However, a change of partner reduced the recurrence risk significantly. Among 236 infants of mothers who changed partners, 1 (0.4 percent) had a facial-cleft defect, as compared with 77 (3.3 percent) of 2350 infants of mothers who did not change partners (relative risk, 0.1; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.02 to 0.9). CONCLUSIONS: Recurrence of facial-cleft defects is not linked to the residence of the mother, but having a different partner reduced a woman's risk of having a second child with this defect.

Cleft Lip↗
PubMed1995

Uptake of phenoxyacetic acid by Penicillium chrysogenum.

The uptake of phenoxyacetic acid by two different strains of Penicillium chrysogenum was studied. Phenoxyacetic acid (POA) was taken up by P. chrysogenum in a defined medium. Plots of initial velocity of POA uptake versus external substrate concentration, in the range 2-5000 microM, gave linear plots. Uptake of POA by induced and uninduced cells was identical. The initial velocity of POA uptake decreased as the pH of the suspension was increased from 5.4 to 7.2; the decrease closely paralleled the decline in the non-ionic form of the acid over this pH range. The initial velocity of POA uptake was not affected by the presence of phenylacetic acid. POA uptake proceeded until the cellular concentration was equal to the external concentration. It is concluded that POA is passively transported into P. chrysogenum by unmediated diffusion.

Biological Transport, Active↗
PubMed1995

Observer variability in the assessment of type and dysplasia of colorectal adenomas, analyzed using kappa statistics.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to establish the intraobserver and interobserver variability in the assessment of histologic type (tubular, villous, and tubulovillous) and grade of cytologic dysplasia (mild, moderate, and severe) in colorectal adenomas. METHODS: One hundred eighty-seven slides of adenomas were assessed twice by three experienced pathologists, with an interval of two months. Results were analyzed using kappa statistics. RESULTS: For agreement between first and second assessment (both type and grade of dysplasia), kappa values for the three specialists were 0.5345, 0.9022, and 0.4100, respectively. Agreement was better for type than for dysplasia. The strength of agreement was moderate for Observers A and C and almost perfect for Observer B. Agreement between all three observers was seen in 35.2 percent for both type and dysplasia in 61 percent for type and in 47.8 percent for dysplasia. The kappa values for Observer A vs. B and Observer C vs. B were 0.3480 and 0.3770, respectively (both type and dysplasia). Values for type were better than for dysplasia, but agreement was only fair to moderate. CONCLUSION: The interobserver agreement was moderate to almost perfect, but the intraobserver agreement was only fair to moderate. A simpler classification system or a centralization of assessments would probably increase kappa values.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1995

Feasibility of obtaining family consent for teaching cricothyrotomy on the newly dead in the emergency department.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine whether family members of recently deceased emergency department patients would consent to the performance of a cricothyrotomy on the deceased for educational purposes. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Suburban tertiary care teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Family members of 51 patients older than 18 years who were pronounced dead in the ED from atraumatic causes. INTERVENTIONS: Family members were approached by an attending physician for consent to perform a cricothyrotomy as a learning opportunity for physicians on their recently deceased family members. If consent was given, the procedure was performed by an emergency medicine resident physician under the attending physician's supervision. RESULTS: Of 51 deaths, 20 families (39%) consented to postmortem cricothyrotomy, 23 families (45%) refused consent, and 8 families (16%) were too distraught to be approached for consent. All 20 families that consented to the procedure were white, with little representation from other ethnic groups. CONCLUSION: Although there are difficulties in obtaining consent to perform invasive procedures on the recently deceased in the ED for educational purposes, our study demonstrates that many families will consent to such procedures if adequate information and explanation are provided. The results of this study may not be applicable to institutions serving patients with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Coffee intake and other factors in relation to multiple deliveries: a study in Greece.

We conducted a case-control study of factors that may be related to the prevalence of multiple births with at least one liveborn. Over a period of 15 months during 1991-1992 in Athens, Greece, we identified 380 women who had a multiple birth that was delivered in one of the six larger maternity hospitals in the area. We selected as controls 380 livebirth singleton pregnancies delivered at the same hospitals immediately following a multiple pregnancy. All mothers were interviewed in the maternity wards or at home, and zygosity was ascertained through the similarity method. The odds ratio for ovulation-inducing drugs was not elevated for monozygotic twins, but it was 9-fold for dizygotic twins and 90-fold for triplets or quadruplets. We excluded drug-induced pregnancies, twins of indeterminable zygosity, and all triplets from further analyses. We found no remarkable association between any of the study variables and the occurrence of monozygotic twins, with the exception of an increasing trend with age. For dizygotic twins, we found weak associations in the expected directions with maternal age (positive) and height (positive) as well as with parity and number of induced abortions (positive). A history of oral contraceptive use was inversely, but weakly, associated with dizygotic twinning. Each cup of coffee per day was associated with an increment in the odds ratio of 1.23-fold. (95% confidence interval = 1.05-1.43). Restriction of the analysis to dizygotic twins of different gender increased the point estimate of the odds ratio to 1.31 for each cup of coffee consumed daily.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Are seasonal preferences in pregnancy planning a source of bias in studies of seasonal variation in reproductive outcomes? The European Study Group on Infertility and Subfecundity.

Seasonal variation in reproductive failures is expected, as many of the putative causes change over the seasons. Many studies have documented such seasonal variation in reproductive failures, but none has addressed the potential source of bias related to seasonal planning of pregnancies. Our aim was to quantify this bias under realistic assumptions. We used data from the European Study of Infertility and Subfecundity, which is a study based upon representative samples of women age 25-44 years in different parts of Europe. Data on pregnancy planning stem from personal interviews. Altogether, we analyzed 4,731 pregnancies. Results show that pregnancy planning is not evenly distributed over the seasons, with summer the preferred time for starting pregnancy. The most fecund will conceive within the preferred time, but those who are subfecund may not succeed until later. Since subfecund women have a higher risk of some reproductive failures (spontaneous abortions, for example), the seasonal planning differences could in themselves lead to seasonal variations in reproductive failures. A simulation model shows that bias related to differential pregnancy planning is likely to have only a small impact under the present conditions in Europe.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1995

Meta-analyses or collaborative studies.

In decision making, it is often necessary to select between different strategies, and the best decision relies heavily on precise quantitative estimates of risks and benefits of the different strategies. To make such estimates, large samples are needed, but large studies are very expensive and difficult to conduct, especially studies that involve several centers, often in different countries. Before such a study is initiated, other options should be fully explored; if data already exist, it may be possible to combine results into a single estimate. A meta-analysis may be easy to do, but it is difficult to do well; sometimes, a meta-analysis may be grossly misleading. Some of the options and pitfalls in doing a meta-analysis are revealed in the text. The options for a meta-analysis should be considered before a megastudy is launched, and meta-analyses are often a useful way of introducing past experience into inference making.

Bias↗
PubMed1995

Experiences in developing legislation protecting reproductive health.

The law regarding special maternity leave for pregnant women in hazardous work situations has been in effect since 1981 in Denmark. In Finland, legislation regarding the protection of the reproductive health of working men and women and of pregnant women has been in effect since 1991. According to the special maternity leave law, women who are exposed to certain chemical, physical, or biological agents that are considered to be harmful to the fetus may be entitled to special maternity leave and benefits. In Denmark and in Finland, approximately 1% and 0.1%, respectively, of pregnant women have used the special maternity leave due to a risky work situation. In Finland, the yearly costs of the leave have been US $200,000 to $250,000. Trained occupational physicians can facilitate changes at the workplace that will decrease the need for special maternity leave.

Denmark↗
PubMed1995

Exposure to styrene and chronic health effects: mortality and incidence of solid cancers in the Danish reinforced plastics industry.

OBJECTIVES: To study the occurrence of non-malignant diseases and solid cancers in workers exposed to styrene in the Danish reinforced plastics industry. METHODS: All 36,610 workers of 386 reinforced plastics companies and 14,293 workers not exposed to styrene from similar industries were followed up from 1970 to 1990. This industry is characterised by simple exposure conditions, exposure to high concentrations of styrene, and a high proportion of small companies, and the exposure assessment was based on experts' classification on a company level. The mortality from non-malignant causes and the incidence of solid cancers were compared with the national rates. Poisson models were used for internal comparisons. RESULTS: A total of 3031 deaths and 1134 newly diagnosed cases of solid cancer were reported in the workers in the reinforced plastics industry. In companies where 50% or more of the workers produced reinforced plastics an increased mortality rate ratio (MRR) for degenerative disorders of the nervous system (multiple sclerosis, parkinsonism, and motor neurone disease; MRR 1.8, 16 cases, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.9-3.8) and an increased incidence rate ratio (IRR) for pancreatic cancer (IRR 2.2, 17 cases, 95% CI 1.1-4.5) was found. For both disease categories increased occurrence was also found among long term workers, workers of the 1960s (the period with the highest exposure to styrene), and workers with a latent period of more than 10 years after the start of employment. No other non-malignant diseases or solid cancers showed these patterns. CONCLUSION: The findings have to be interpreted with caution, due to the company based exposure assessment, but the possible association between exposures in the reinforced plastics industry, mainly styrene, and degenerative disorders of the nervous system and pancreatic cancer, deserves attention.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed1995

Is moderate alcohol intake in pregnancy associated with the craniofacial features related to the fetal alcohol syndrome?

Social drinking in pregnancy is common in many countries despite the fact that alcohol in high doses has teratogenic properties. The public health implications would be appreciable if even moderate alcohol consumption were associated with embryonal or fetal maldevelopment. A presumably sensitive marker of an alcohol effect was used in this study, namely the fetal craniofacial features included in the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. The study was based upon self-reported alcohol intake and photographs taken at birth or at 18 months of children born to mothers with a low or moderate alcohol intake during pregnancy. These women were selected during pregnancy by a two-stage sampling from all in well defined regions. Data were available concerning 323 pregnant women and some 200 to 220 children. A short palpebral fissure, a short nose to upper-lip distance and a broad root of the nose were expected to be associated with alcohol intake in early pregnancy, but such an association was only seen between binge drinking and a short palpebral fissure. No associations proved statistically significant at the 18-month examination and any association could merely be secondary to the known association between alcohol and birth weight.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Moderate alcohol consumption in pregnancy and subsequent left-handedness.

Alcohol in high doses is neurotoxic to the developing brain but it is not yet settled whether small doses give rise to more subtle effects. The aim of the study was to establish whether a moderate intake of alcohol in pregnancy would increase the frequency of left-handedness in the offspring. Such an association could indicate a possible subtle prenatal neurotoxic effect. This was a follow-up study of a group of pregnant women who took part in a community trial in 1984 to 1987. Data on alcohol consumption were reported by consecutively sampled pregnant women in the 36th week of gestation. Hand preference for their offspring was reported by the mothers in a self-administered questionnaire when their children were 5 to 9 years old. Ninety-one percent participated in the follow-up study. The study showed that 9.1% of the children were left-handed, with a higher prevalence among boys (11.8%). Results showed a slightly higher frequency of being left-handed among children exposed to alcohol in fetal life, but the findings were not statistically significant at a 0.05 level.

Alcohol Drinking↗