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Biomedical subjects

S Berg

Publications and source records attributed to S Berg.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

WHO Collaborative Study on Alcohol Education and Young People: outcomes of a four-country pilot study.

In 1985 the Division of Mental Health, World Health Organization, Geneva, convened a group of investigators from centers in four countries--Australia, Chile, Norway, Swaziland--to participate in a pilot study on the efficacy of school-based alcohol education. The goal of the educational program was to delay onset and minimize involvement of alcohol use among 13- to 14-year-old adolescents. Twenty-five schools in the four countries, representing middle- and lower-class populations, were randomly assigned to peer-led education, teacher-led education, or a control condition. The educational program was derived from social-psychological theory and etiological research on adolescent alcohol use. The program focused on the social and environmental influences to drink alcohol and skills to resist those influences. It consisted of five lessons over 2 months. Baseline and posttest data measured alcohol use knowledge, attitudes, skills, and friends' drinking patterns. Data were collected immediately prior to and 2 months following the educational program. The data converge on the finding that peer-led education appears to be efficacious in reducing alcohol use across a variety of settings and cultures.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Investigation on trichothecene-stimulated lipid peroxidation and toxic effects of trichothecenes in animals.

Three experiments were performed with mice intoxicated with trichothecene-contamined feed or directly into the stomach. Lipid peroxidation was estimated by the TBA value from liver samples, but since such a test seldom provided reliable results, lipid hydroperoxides and total carbonyl were also analyzed. The formation of aldehydes and ketones was compared in vivo and in vitro. The same investigations were conducted on chickens, rainbow trouts and numerous fur animals suspected of chronic intoxication by trichothecenes. The vitamin A concentration was used as a parameter to detect alterations caused in chickens by trichothecenes. Our investigation provided evidence that lipid peroxidation is associated with trichothecene poisoning. The T-2 toxin, even in small concentrations, seems to induce strong lipid peroxidation. When DON and 3-AcDON were given together at a dosage of 180 micrograms/kg feed, 1 week's feeding caused clear lipid peroxidation in mice. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that mycotoxins may already be present in the feed before any experiment is conducted.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Elevated levels of plasma hyaluronan in septicaemia.

Hyaluronan (hyaluronic acid) is normally rapidly cleared from the circulation by the endothelial cells in the liver sinuoids, which make up part of the reticulo-endothelial system (RES). An impaired RES function in severe infection and sepsis might therefore lead to elevated hyaluronan plasma levels. Thus, plasma concentrations of hyaluronan were analysed in 44 patients with severe infection at onset of disease and twice during the following 2-3 days. The patients were divided with respect to severity of disease; no septic shock (n = 29), group 1), septic shock survivors (n = 7, group 2), and septic shock non-survivors (n = 8, group 3). Patients in group 1 showed significantly higher values of plasma hyaluronan on day 1 (p less than 0.05) compared with controls. There was no significant difference on the following two sampling occasions. Patients with septic shock (groups 2 and 3) showed higher values than both controls (p less than 0.001) and patients with severe infection without septic shock (group 1, p less than 0.001) at all three sampling occasions. Non-survivors of septic shock (group 3) had significantly higher values than survivors (group 2), (p less than 0.01-0.05). Septic shock, and especially fatal septic shock, thus appears to be associated with elevated plasma hyaluronan concentrations. Possible mechanisms might be an increased release of the polysaccharide from the interstitial space to the bloodstream, or a decreased rate of clearance by liver endothelial cells. This question demands further study.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Note on ethene and other low-molecular weight hydrocarbons in environmental tobacco smoke.

Levels of ethene and propene, together with those of some other light hydrocarbons (propane, butane, isobutane and ethyne), have been measured under realistic conditions in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) as a step towards the elucidation of the sources of 2-hydroxyethyl and 2-hydroxypropyl adducts of hemoglobin observed in non-smokers. These adducts may reflect in vivo doses of carcinogenic epoxides that are metabolites of the respective alkenes. The data show that 2.0 mg ethene, 1.4 mg propene, and 0.7 mg propane together with smaller amounts of butane, isobutane and ethyne are released per cigarette smoked (0.66 g tobacco) of a common Swedish brand. The alkenes in ETS should be considered as contributing factors to a risk of systemic cancer from passive smoking. With regard to alkene intake, even a relatively mild exposure to ETS (2 cigarettes per h for 5 h per day in a 33 m3 room with one air change per hour is estimated to correspond to the active smoking of about one cigarette per day.

Alkenes↗
PubMed1987

Carbamate ester derivatives as potential prodrugs of the presynaptic dopamine autoreceptor agonist (-)-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-N-propylpiperidine.

Twenty derivatives bearing substituents on the phenolic function of (-)-3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-N-propylpiperidine [(-)-3-PPP] were synthesized and tested as prodrugs. The carbamate ester derivatives were found to be the most suitable prodrugs, and especially the 4-isopropylphenylcarbamate 20 was capable of escaping the first-pass metabolism and still generating high plasma levels of the parent compound. Four hours after an oral dose of 100 mumol/kg to rats, a plasma level of 2400 nmol/L of (-)-3-PPP was detected by an HPLC method. This was 90 times the level reached after 4 h (27 nmol/L) when (-)-3-PPP itself was given orally at the same dose.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

[Effects of fauna on cadavers and microbial saprophytes on blood group findings on human tissues].

The investigation of postmortem human tissue, exposed to the influence of flies and their maggots, has shown in general that there is a drop in ABO blood-group activity due to the secretive action of the anterior intestinal gland of the larva. In addition, the phenomenon of acquired heterogeneous blood-group-specific substances was observed. By analogy with the findings in mummy tissues, the postmortal invasion of foreign bacterial and fungal blood-group-active material is discussed as a cause of erroneous serological diagnosis in bones. Acquisition of foreign serological activity through plant saprophytes was detected in a bone sample infested with algae. In different subfossil bone samples, blood-group activity was evident in the more decomposed areas, while in the better preserved parts of the bony substance, negative reactions were obtained.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1985

Continuity of care in health care teams. A comparison of continuity measures and organisational solutions.

With the aid of a continuity index (K), ranged from 0 to 100% and previously described, a comparison has been made in a primary care district before and after the opening of a new health care centre. An organization with health care teams seems to have contributed to a considerable improvement in continuity. The K index increased from 28 to 69% for scheduled and acute visits taken together. About 90% of the visits to the ordinary district physicians were made by people living in the "correct" geographical area. The corresponding figure as regards visits to the district nurse and nurse was 97%. When the service time at a health centre, not organised with health care teams, was expanded and the number of physicians increased, the K index rose from 43 to 54%. When three positions as full-time physicians were divided into six half-time, the K index dropped from 53% to 42%. In order to assess the K index, it was compared to three other measures (UPC, COC and SECON). They all tended to give fairly similar results when applied to empirical data, although the K index required less detailed data to compute. Therefore, the K index can be considered to be a worthwhile measure to use, when analyzing the effects of organizational changes.

Community Health Centers↗
PubMed1985

Continuity of care indices under an urn model.

An urn model of Pólya-Eggenberger type is applied to the problem of measuring provider continuity in ambulatory care. The model is fitted to data from a Swedish community health care center, and predictions from the model are compared with observed counts from patients visit data. Two well known continuity of care measures, the COC and SECON indices, are shown to have a simple interpretation in terms of the model parameters, and their accuracy is discussed in the light of the urn model. Two further indices suggested in medical care literature are briefly discussed.

Adolescent↗