Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Atkinson.
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Several nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAH) are direct-acting mutagens and/or carcinogens, and are important constituents of combustion emissions and ambient air. These nitro-PAH are emitted from various combustion sources including gasoline and diesel engine exhaust, aluminium smelting effluent, coal fly ash, wood smoke, and cigarette smoke condensates. Of these, diesel engine exhaust is the best characterized, more than 50 nitrated polycyclic aromatic compounds having been identified by Paputa-Peck et al., including 1-nitropyrene (1-NP) as the single most abundant nitro-PAH. However, nitro-PAH may also be formed during source-receptor transport by atmospheric reactions of adsorbed or gas-phase PAH with oxides of nitrogen, nitric acid and other atmospherically important species such as the OH radical. Evidence for the atmospheric formation of nitro-PAH has come only recently, from observations that 2-nitropyrene (2-NP) and 2-nitrofluoranthene (2-NF) neither of which has been reported to be emitted from combustion sources, are among the major nitro-PAH present in ambient air. We present here data from several locations which demonstrate that these two atmospherically formed nitro-PAH are ubiquitous in tropospheric ambient air.
A unique case of sarcoidosis, presenting as a unilateral multilevel cervical radiculopathy without spinal cord compression, is discussed. The clinical presentation, along with the initial myelographic findings and emphasis on local compressive etiologies delayed the diagnosis. The aim of this report is to focus on this unique entity and to review its role in the differential diagnosis of patients with atypical cervical radiculopathy. A pleocytosis of cerebrospinal fluid, an increase in protein concentration, and hypoglycorrhachia support the diagnosis of spinal cord sarcoidosis. While the outlook for patients with spinal cord sarcoid is poor, improvement of neurologic deficits has been documented after steroid therapy. A review of the literature on sarcoid involvement of the spinal cord and roots is summarized.