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At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Ochratoxin A in human serum samples collected in southern Italy from healthy individuals and individuals suffering from different kidney disorders.

Ochratoxin A was determined in human serum samples, collected in the south of Italy in November 1992, using ion-pair liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection. The samples were collected from healthy people (65 subjects) as well as from people with different kidney disorders. Five different kinds of kidney disorders were represented: transplanted subjects (13), chronic glomerulonephritis (8), renal calculus or cyst (6), chronic renal failure (13), and subjects treated by dialysis (28). The mean and median concentrations of ochratoxin A in the healthy group was 0.53 and 0.44 ng/ml serum, respectively. The highest mean concentration was found in the group of patients treated by dialysis, 1.4 ng/ml serum. A higher incidence of samples containing > 0.44 ng ochratoxin A/ml serum was found in the dialysis group, compared to the other groups. Comparing the mean concentrations by Student's t-test, a significant difference was found between the mean concentrations of the healthy group and of the group of patients treated by dialysis (P < 0.01). No other significant differences were found when comparing the groups two at a time.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1977

[Individual psychotherapy. Institutional psychotherapy. Individual approach].

In the psychiatric management of patients where the author works the following factors are given careful consideration: a) source of referral, b) previous information about the illness, c) the content of the first session, d) obstacles for further treatment and e) theoretical basis for the psychotherapy sessions. Bellak and Small outlines are followed to structure brief and emergency psychotherapy at the author's institution.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

Nationwide survey of comorbidity, use, and costs of all medications in Finnish diabetic individuals.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate comorbidity and overall use and costs of medication for all Finnish individuals with diabetes treated with drugs compared with sex- and age-matched control subjects. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: According to a cross-sectional population study using national registries, 116,224 individuals purchased antidiabetic medications in Finland in 1995. The same number of nondiabetic individuals matched for sex, age, and area of residence were chosen as control subjects. Age at onset of diabetes was used as a criterion for distinguishing between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The criterion could be applied in 74% of cases. A total of 16,955 individuals were defined as having type 1 diabetes, and 68,517 were defined as having type 2 diabetes. Comorbidity was determined by linkage with a national register including all individuals entitled to special reimbursement for drug treatment for a range of chronic diseases. Data on use and costs of all medications prescribed were obtained from drug purchase records. RESULTS: Cardiovascular diseases and uremia were, as expected, the chronic diseases most closely associated with diabetes. Use of almost all kinds of medication was significantly greater in individuals with type 1 and type 2 diabetes than in control subjects. The greatest differences were observed in relation to cardiovascular drugs and antibiotics. Unexpectedly low use of antiasthmatics was observed in individuals with both types of diabetes, low use of neuroleptics was observed in type 1 diabetic individuals, and low use of hormone replacement therapy was observed in women with type 2 diabetes. Total costs of medications for individuals with diabetes were 3.5 times greater than those for nondiabetic control subjects. The higher costs were mostly attributable to insulin therapy for individuals with type 1 diabetes. The higher costs for individuals with type 2 diabetes were related to the cost of medications other than antidiabetic medication. The possible selection bias in omitting diabetic individuals treated with diet only and individuals in whom diabetes type could not be determined must be considered in interpreting the results. CONCLUSIONS: Greater use by and costs of medications for individuals with diabetes than for nondiabetic individuals is related not only to antidiabetic treatment but also to all other kinds of medications. Although drug treatment and the prevalence of several chronic conditions were overall greater in individuals with diabetes versus other individuals, some exceptions merit further study

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed2005

Individual placental territories after selective laser photocoagulation of communicating vessels in twin-twin transfusion syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Intrauterine fetal death of one or both twins after laser therapy (selective photocoagulation of communicating vessels) may occur, in part, from insufficient individual placental mass. The objective of this study was to assess the percentage of individual placental mass (individual placental territory) that is associated with fetal survival in twin-twin transfusion syndrome after selective photocoagulation of communicating vessels. STUDY DESIGN: Placentas from 72 patients with selective photocoagulation of communicating vessels-treated twin-twin transfusion syndrome without intrauterine fetal death and from 61 monochorionic pregnancies without twin-twin transfusion syndrome (control subjects) were assessed. The placentas were weighed fresh (total placental mass) and cut along the vascular equator, which yielded the individual placental mass and the individual placental territory. Patency of anastomoses was ruled out with air-injection. The individual fetoplacental ratio was obtained by dividing birth weight by the corresponding individual placental mass. RESULTS: The 5th percentile individual placental territory that was associated with fetal survival was 27% in control subjects and 18% in cases with twin-twin transfusion syndrome, with a minimum of 10% to 14%, respectively. There were no differences in total placental mass, individual placental mass, individual placental territory, or individual fetoplacental ratio between pregnancies with twin-twin transfusion syndrome and control subjects. However, corrected for gestational age, the birth weight of recipient and donor twins were significantly smaller than control subjects. The individual placental territory of donors was statistically smaller than that of recipients. Individual placental territories were not different within control subjects. CONCLUSION: Fetal survival typically is associated with at least 18% of individual placental territory after selective photocoagulation of communicating vessels for twin-twin transfusion syndrome, but it can occur with as little as 10% to 14% individual placental territory. Decreased birth weight of the donor twin could result from relative decreased percentage of individual placental territory or from the loss of nutrients to the recipient twin. Decreased birth weight of the recipient twin could result from partial deprivation of functional placental tissue after surgery. Our findings may contribute to the understanding of normal and pathologic monochorionic twin gestations, in the counseling of patients, and potentially to the improvement of surgical treatment of twin-twin transfusion syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Income and Mental Health: Unraveling Community and Individual Level Relationships.

BACKGROUND: The association between individual socioeconomic status (SES) and mental disorder is well-documented, but studies to date have provided limited and sometimes conflicting evidence on the relationship between aspects of socioeconomic environment, including the role of income inequality, and mental disorder. AIMS OF THE STUDY: This paper explores the relationships between mental disorder and individual SES and socioeconomic environment, with particular attention to both the level and dispersion of community income and to their interactions with individual income. METHODS: Cross sectional study using nationally representative, individual level data from the Healthcare for Communities survey merged with supplemental information. Dependent variable is individual mental health status, measured by the 5 item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5; average 80.6) and an indicator of probable anxiety or mood disorder based on clinical screening instruments (positive for 14.3 percent of respondents in the sample). RESULTS: MHI-5 decreases (indicating worse mental health), and the probability of an anxiety or depressive disorder increases continuously from the highest to the lowest quintiles of family income. Compared to those in the highest income quintile, MHI-5 is more than 10 points lower and the probability of disorder is much greater among individuals in the lowest income quintile. Within-quintile own income level is also strongly associated with mental health among lower income individuals. We find no evidence that higher levels of income inequality are associated with poor mental health outcomes, measured either by the probability of disorder or MHI-5. Regarding income level, MHI-5 is 3.4 to 3.5 points higher among low income individuals in medium or high income states compared to those in low income states. DISCUSSION: The qualitative conclusions are stable across various specifications reported (two different measures of mental health, two geographic levels, and among all individuals and low income individuals alone), and in specifications with alternative parameterizations of the community variables (continuously measured, included as quintiles instead of tertiles, and using other indicators of inequality). Individual income is highly correlated with mental health status; level of state income has some association; community or state income inequality has no detectable relationship with mental health. This analysis provides no support for the hypothesis that income inequality is a stronger determinant of health than individual or family income, a hypothesis that in recent years has received much attention in the popular press and policy debates. Limitations of our analysis include the cross-sectional nature of the analysis, the sample sizes used in derivation of the site variables (though sensitivity analyses showed robust results) and the age of the state data. CONCLUSIONS: The association between individual income and mental health is strong. No support for the income inequality hypothesis is found.IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH POLICY FORMULATION: Our findings point to a need for better understanding of the relationship between individual income and mental health outcomes. Our research does not support the notion that policies aimed at diminishing income inequality are an important lever in improving mental health outcomes for individuals. IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: This research does not address whether and how different sources of income-at the individual or community level-may affect mental health, and whether the associations observed cross-sectionally also bear out longitudinally. In addition, more research into the relationship between other community characteristics, such as service availability, and mental health outcomes is needed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Within-individual variation in bullfrog vocalizations: implications for a vocally mediated social recognition system.

Acoustic signals provide a basis for social recognition in a wide range of animals. Few studies, however, have attempted to relate the patterns of individual variation in signals to behavioral discrimination thresholds used by receivers to discriminate among individuals. North American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) discriminate among familiar and unfamiliar individuals based on individual variation in advertisement calls. The sources, patterns, and magnitudes of variation in eight acoustic properties of multiple-note advertisement calls were examined to understand how patterns of within-individual variation might either constrain, or provide additional cues for, vocal recognition. Six of eight acoustic properties exhibited significant note-to-note variation within multiple-note calls. Despite this source of within-individual variation, all call properties varied significantly among individuals, and multivariate analyses indicated that call notes were individually distinct. Fine-temporal and spectral call properties exhibited less within-individual variation compared to gross-temporal properties and contributed most toward statistically distinguishing among individuals. Among-individual differences in the patterns of within-individual variation in some properties suggest that within-individual variation could also function as a recognition cue. The distributions of among-individual and within-individual differences were used to generate hypotheses about the expected behavioral discrimination thresholds of receivers.

Animal Communication↗
PubMed2006

Individual freedoms versus collective responsibility: immunization decision-making in the face of occasionally competing values.

Modern public health strives for maximizing benefits for the highest number of people while protecting individual rights. Restrictions on individual rights are justified for two reasons--for the benefit of the individual or the benefit of the community. In extreme situations there may be a need to protect the health of an individual and particularly a child; even by overriding individual/parental autonomy. However, The American Academy of Pediatrics recently concluded that "Continued (vaccine) refusal after adequate discussion should be respected unless the child is put at significant risk of serious harm (as, for example, might be the case during an epidemic). Only then should state agencies be involved to override parental discretion on the basis of medical neglect". Many countries have compulsory immunization requirements. These laws curtail individual autonomy in order to protect the community from infectious diseases because unvaccinated individuals pose risk to the community--including vaccinated individuals (since vaccines are not 100% efficacious), children too young to be vaccinated, and persons who have medical vaccine contraindications. There are situations where there can be a real or perceived divergence between individual and community benefits of vaccination. This divergence may occasionally be based upon current scientific evidence and may exemplify the need for overriding individual autonomy. A divergence between individual and community benefits may also exist when there are ideological beliefs incongruent with vaccination or individuals are unaware of or do not accept available scientific evidence. When the state curtails individual freedoms for the collective good, it should address several issues including the magnitude of the individual and community risk, the strength of the individual's conviction, wider and long-term consequences of restricting individual autonomy, effective risk communication, best available scientific evidence, and transparency of the decision making process.

Editorial↗
PubMed1998

Genetic dissection of sperm individualization in Drosophila melanogaster.

The morphogenesis of spermatids generally takes place within a syncytium, in which all spermatid nuclei descended from a primary spermatocyte remain connected via an extensive network of cytoplasmic bridges. A late step in sperm maturation therefore requires the physical resolution of the syncytium, or cyst, into individual cells, a process sometimes referred to as sperm individualization. Despite the identification of specialized machinery involved in the individualization of Drosophila spermatids (Tokuyasu, K. T., Peacock, W. J. and Hardy, R. W. (1972) Z. Zellforsch 124, 479-506), and of many Drosophila genes mutable to male-sterile phenotypes, little is known of the mechanisms by which this extensive remodeling of the cyst is accomplished. Here, the identification of a major cytoskeletal component of the individualization complex as actin is confirmed with a simple fluorescence assay. Using rhodamine-phalloidin as a probe, the individualization complex is readily visualized forming around bundles of spermatid nuclei at one end of highly elongated cysts, then translocating along the length of the cysts. The structure of the individualization complex in a male-sterile clathrin heavy chain (Chc) mutant is observed to be reduced or disrupted relative to wild-type, consistent with the individualization-deficient phenotype of this mutant. Using the fluorescence assay, a sampling of male-sterile mutant phenotypes in which spermatogenesis proceeds to the assembly of highly elongated cysts distinguishes at least four different phenotypic classes: (1) mutations (nanking class) that block or significantly retard the assembly of the actin-based individualization complex around the nuclear bundle, (2) mutations (dud class) in which the individualization complex assembles in/around the nuclear bundle, but fails to translocate down the cyst, (3) mutations (mulet class) that allow the assembly of a morphologically normal individualization complex around the nuclear bundle, but result in a breakdown in the complex after it begins to translocate down the cyst, and (4) mutations (purity of essence class) that allow the assembly of a motile but morphologically altered or reduced individualization complex. Individualization also fails in a number of mutants with altered nuclear shape, consistent with the hypothesis that spermatid nuclei provide a physical scaffolding for the assembly of the individualization complex. Genetic analysis suggests that a substantial number of additional loci with phenotypes distinguishable with this assay remain to be identified. The large proportion of male-sterile mutations resulting in a late block to spermatogenesis, in which highly elongated cysts fail to be individualized, suggest a substantial susceptibility of this process to a broad range of cellular perturbations. The massive reorganization of cyst cytoplasm required at individualization is expected to be a correspondingly complex function requiring exquisite coordination of multiple cytoplasmic functions, and may account for the previously noted high frequency with which Drosophila genes are mutable to male-sterile phenotypes.

Actins↗
PubMed1993

A cross-study contextual analysis of effects from individual-level drinking and group-level drinking factors: a meta-analysis of multiple longitudinal studies from the collaborative alcohol-related longitudinal project.

In contextual (cross-level) analysis within multiple longitudinal general population studies, individual-level drinking behaviors (quantity per typical occasion, frequency of drinking per month and total volume of drinks per month) at final measurement are assessed by three models that simultaneously enter individual- and group-level measures. Two age groups (15-20 and 21-30) are independently assessed. In each model, the Time 1 individual-level drinking behavior and one of three group-level factors are entered. The group-level factors are (1) the percentage of abstainers at Time 1 for each age/sex cohort, (2) the Time 1 group mean for the drinking measure for the age/sex cohort and (3) the mean difference of the age/sex cohort's change in the drinking measure over time. All variables in the model are controlled by variations to exposure in per capita consumption of alcohol during the age/sex cohort's formative years and at Time 2. Meta-analysis assesses the homogeneity of the findings across studies. Models were proposed with the rationale that (1) understanding of individual drinking behavior can be advanced if individual-level data and group-level data are considered in the same models, and (2) integration of these two levels of analyses are, to date, rare. The rationale for using meta-analysis is that findings from the models can be assessed across social contexts with respect to their generalizability. The mean difference model, controlling for individual drinking at Time 1, is the most influential of the group-level models for the younger age group: the degree to which the group changes its drinking pattern is positively related to individual-level drinking behavior at final measurement, over and above the individual's drinking behavior at Time 1, for individual-level frequency of drinking among males (homogeneous among drinkers only). Younger females show more significant relationships for the mean difference females show more significant relationships for the mean difference model. Findings are significant for all relationships examined for the mean difference of the drinking of the group and the individual drinking among the older males and females. Measures of individual-level drinking for all measures at Time 1, controlling for the group-level effects, are significantly related to individual-level drinking at final measurement. The results are homogeneous for quantity (drinkers only) and volume among the young. Findings indicate that characterizations of the drinking for both the individual and the group to which the individual belongs predict measures of drinking practices on the individual level over time.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Neurotrophin levels and behaviour in BALB/c mice: impact of intermittent exposure to individual housing and wheel running.

This study assessed the effects of intermittent individual housing on behaviour and brain neurotrophins, and whether physical exercise could influence alternate individual-housing-induced effects. Five-week-old BALB/c mice were either housed in enhanced social (E) or standard social (S) housing conditions for 2 weeks. Thereafter they were divided into six groups and for 6 weeks remained in the following experimental conditions: Control groups remained in their respective housing conditions (E-control, S-control); enhanced individual (E-individual) and standard individual (S-individual) groups were exposed every other day to individual cages without running-wheels; enhanced running-wheel (E-wheel) and standard running-wheel (S-wheel) groups were put on alternate days in individual running-wheel cages. Animals were assessed for activity in an automated individual cage system (LABORAS) and brain neurotrophins analysed. Intermittent individual housing increased behavioural activity and reduced nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in frontal cortex; while it increased BDNF level in the amygdala and BDNF protein and mRNA in hippocampus. Besides normalizing motor activity and regulating BDNF and NGF levels in hippocampus, amygdala and cerebellum, physical exercise did not attenuate reduction of cortical NGF and BDNF induced by intermittent individual housing. This study demonstrates that alternate individual housing has significant impact on behaviour and brain neurotrophin levels in mice, which can be partially altered by voluntary physical exercise. Our results also suggest that some changes in neurotrophin levels induced by intermittent individual housing are not similar to those caused by continuous individual housing.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1984

Characterization of T lymphocyte and monocyte populations in HLA B8/DRw3 normal individuals and in patients with dermatitis herpetiformis.

Normal individuals who possess the HLA B8/DRw3 haplotype as well as patients with dermatitis herpetiformis have been found to have a number of immunologic abnormalities including decreased numbers of E rosette-positive, Fc IgG receptor-bearing lymphocytes (referred to as TG cells), and increased numbers of cells which spontaneously secrete immunoglobulin. HLA B8/DRw3-positive normal individuals also have an increased risk for the development of a number of immunologically mediated diseases. Since many of these findings are suggestive of B-cell hyperreactivity and since TG cells were initially thought to represent a portion of the T suppressor cell network, we have examined the peripheral blood mononuclear (PBM) cell populations of 14 normal HLA B8/DRw3-positive individuals, 14 patients with dermatitis herpetiformis (all of whom were HLA B8/DRw3-positive), and 9 non-HLA B8/DRw3 individuals using flow cytometry and monoclonal antibodies of the OK and Leu series directed against cell surface antigens. Normal HLA B8/DRw3 individuals were found to have a significantly lower percentage of PBM cells that expressed both OKT8 and Leu-2a when compared to normal non-HLA B8/DRw3 individuals (p less than .05 Student's t-test). When the ratio of T helper cells (OKT4 and Leu-3a) to T suppressor cells (OKT8 and Leu-2a) was calculated for each individual studied, normal HLA B8/DRw3 individuals were found to have a significantly elevated ratio (Leu-3a/Leu-2a = 2.41 +/- .16, mean +/- SEM) when compared to non-HLA selected individuals (Leu-3a/Leu-2a = 1.73 +/- .05) (p less than 0.025). In addition, normal HLA B8/DRw3 individuals had decreased numbers of TG cells when compared to normal non-HLA B8/DRw3 individuals (B8/DRw3 = 6.4 +/- .74%, non-B8/DRw3 = 13.2 +/- 1.0%, mean +/- SEM, p less than .01). In order to determine the cell surface marker characteristics of TG cells, purified TG cells from both normal HLA B8/DRw3 individuals and non-HLA B8/DRw3 individuals were studied using the Leu series monoclonal antibodies and OKM1. Good agreement was found in the percentages of cells expressing each cell surface marker between the two groups. In addition, the TG cells were found to be predominately T cells (78% Leu-1-positive), with both T helper cells (40% Leu-3a-positive) and T suppressor cells (30% Leu-2a-positive) present. These results suggest that the suppressor cell activity associated with the TG subset is not due to a depletion of the T helper cell subset, and that the decreased numbers of TG cells in HLA B8/DRw3 individuals is not due to a preferential loss of cells bearing Leu-1, Leu-2a, Leu-3a, or OKM1.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗