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PubMed1994

Genetic epidemiologic study of hearing loss in an adult population.

Previous population studies of hearing loss have been limited to children with moderate to profound impairment, and have reported that heritability accounts for at least 50% of congenital or early-onset cases. The present study was designed to assess genetic factors associated with late-onset hearing impairment in an adult population. A brief family history and audiologic questionnaire was sent to approximately 11,200 members of the consumer organization, Self Help for the Hard of Hearing, Inc., and 4,039 questionnaires were returned. All respondents reported having at least one previous audiologic exam. Reported data were verified against audiograms when available. Regardless of the reported causes, 49% of early-onset cases (< or = 20 years of age) had one or two parent(s) with some form of hearing loss compared with 62% in later-onset cases. As expected, mean age at onset was substantially younger for cases with positive family histories than cases with negative family histories. Results from nuclear segregation analysis showed that fully recessive and dominant models failed to explain the early- or late-onset hearing loss data. In this nationwide survey, the large proportion of cases with positive family histories clearly indicates the importance of genetic factors in adult-onset forms of hearing loss. Comparison with younger-onset cases will permit further delineation of differences in inheritance patterns. This study should identify more homogeneous groups of adult-onset families for further genetic study, and provide empiric information for use in genetic counselling.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Strategies for the prevention of environmental neurotoxic illness.

Toxic chemicals in the environment can cause a wide range of neurological disease. High-dose exposures to environmental neurotoxicants have produced encephalopathy in children ingesting chips of lead-based paint, blindness in persons who ingested methanol, blindness and ataxia in persons who consumed organic mercury, spinal cord degeneration and peripheral neuropathy in persons exposed to tri-ortho-cresyl phosphate (TOCP), and Parkinsonism in persons exposed to MPTP or to manganese. Environmental neurotoxicants have also been shown to produce a wide range of subclinical neurotoxic effects, including reduction in intelligence, impairment in reasoning ability, shortening of attention span, and alternation of behavior. The first step in the prevention of environmental neurotoxicity is to test chemicals for their toxic potential. More than 70,000 chemicals are currently in commerce. However, except for pharmaceuticals, fewer than 10% of these chemicals have been tested for neurotoxicity. A logical approach to neurotoxicologic assessment of chemical substances will build on and extend currently available test systems. It will have a tiered structure. The first or screening tier will consist of tests to measure obvious structural and functional changes, often a functional observational battery. Subsequent levels of testing will be guided by the results of initial screening. Toxicologic testing must be supplemented by epidemiologic surveillance of populations exposed to known and suspect neurotoxicants. Screening programs in these populations designed to detect excessive absorption of a neurotoxic agent or subclinical neurological dysfunction can be useful in identifying affected individuals before severe disability occurs.

Biomarkers↗
PubMed1996

Issues, Impacts, and Implications of Shrimp Aquaculture in Thailand

Water quality impacts to and from intensive shrimp aquaculture in Thailand are substantial. Besides the surface and subsurface salinization of freshwaters, loadings of solids, oxygen-consuming organic matter, and nutrients to receiving waters are considerable when the cumulative impacts from water exchange during the growout cycle, pond drainage during harvesting, and illegal pond sediment disposal are taken into account. Although just beginning to be considered in Thailand, partial recirculating and integrated intensive farming systems are producing promising, if somewhat limited, results. By providing on-site treatment of the effluent from the shrimp growout ponds, there is less reliance on using outside water supplies, believed to be the source of the contamination.The explosion in the number of intensively operated shrimp farms has not only impacted the coastal zone of Thailand, but has also resulted in an unsustainable aquaculture industry. Abandonment of shrimp ponds due to either drastic, disease-caused collapses or more grandual, year-to-year reductions in the productivity of the pond is common. To move Thailand towards a more sustainable aquaculture industry and coastal zone environment, integrated aquaculture management is needed. Components of integrated aquaculture management are technical and institutional. The technical components involve deployment of wastewater treatment and minimal water-use systems aimed at making aquaculture operations more hydraulically closed. Before this is possible, technical and economic feasibility studies on enhanced nitrification systems and organic solids removal by oxidation between production cycles and/or the utilization of plastic pond liners need to be conducted. The integration of semi-intensive aquaculture within mangrove areas also should be investigated since mangrove losses attributable to shrimp aquaculture are estimated to be between 16 and 32 % of the total mangrove area destroyed betweeen 1979 and 1993.Government policy needs to devote as much attention to sustainability issues as it has on promoting intensive pond culture. Such a balanced policy would include training and education monitoring and enforcement, rehabilitating abandoned ponds, managing land use within the coastal zone, more community involvement, and government reorganization to eliminate overlapping jurisdictions among agencies.As integrated aquaculture management becomes more the practice than the exception, less risk of crop failure to the industry and reduced discharge loadings from intensively managed shrimp ponds to receiving waters can be expected. Projected limitations on growing and marketing shrimp in the future, such as scarcity of land and broodstock, continued disease outbreaks, negative publicity, regulatory enforcement, water treatment and solids disposal costs, and increased competition from growers in other Asian countries will also drive the government and the industry towards adopting integrated aquaculture management.KEY WORDS: Shrimp aquaculture; Thailand; Historical practices; Environmental impacts; Sustainability; Integrated management; Water treatment; Institutional aspects

Journal Article↗
PubMed1988

Capnometers.

The process of monitoring carbon dioxide in the respired gas is described. The physical principle employed in many capnometers is nondispersive infrared absorption: An infrared light beam is projected through a gas sample and the intensity of transmitted light is measured. Differentiation between sidestream and mainstream capnometers is made, where appropriate, in the description of this process. Important factors such as sampling flow rate, water removal, exhaust gas scavenging, measurement interference, calibration, the effect of water vapor, and measurement chamber cleaning are described as part of this process. The value of the data displayed, once derived, is based on the knowledge that carbon dioxide is an end product of the metabolism of oxygen-consuming organisms. The data can be a useful indicator of metabolic, circulatory, and ventilatory processes.

Breath Tests↗
PubMed2005

[Necessity and problems with case-related costing for intensive care patients].

To evaluate whether a German refined diagnosis-related groups (GR-DRGs)-based reimbursement of hospitals/departments covers costs per case, total cost per case accounting is necessary. The aim of the present paper is to delineate the necessity and problems with costs per case accounting for intensive care medicine. The new performance category 8-980 "complex intensive care treatment", in force from 2005 onwards, was integrated into the OPS catalogue to document intensive care work. Whether this will lead to more achievement-oriented cost accounting, has to be demonstrated by the calculations of the institute for reimbursement in hospitals. Basic financing of hospital allowance on a daily basis should be supplemented by extra charges due to analytical concepts of personnel share and to cost-consuming organ replacement procedures. This might lead to a more achievement-oriented cost accounting per case in the ICU.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1996

Construction of an integrative food-grade cloning vector for Lactobacillus acidophilus.

An integrative cloning vector was constructed using a randomly cloned HindIII-digested chromosomal fragment from Lactobacillus acidophilus ADH inserted into an Escherichia coli vector, pBluescript II SK+. Southern hybridization studies demonstrated homology of the inserted fragment with one other L. acidophilus strain and one Bifidobacterium strain. Identification of a SauI site located near the middle of the 1.9-kb ADH chromosomal fragment made it possible to clone the Lactobacillus bulgaricus beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23) gene into this vector. The vector was unable to replicate in the homologous host, L. acidophilus ADH, following electroporation. The chromosomal fragment allowed the integration of the beta-galactosidase gene (beta gal) into the host chromosome via homologous recombination. The size of the two flanking L. acidophilus ADH chromosomal fragments, approximately 0.95 kb each, was sufficient to allow the double cross-over to take place. Southern hybridization demonstrated that only L. acidophilus and L. bulgaricus DNA had been integrated into the chromosome of the host strain. The beta-galactosidase activity of the transformant was increased approximately 200-fold when compared to the enzyme activity of the wild-type strain. The beta gal gene remained stable in the transformant strain after 30 transfers in growth media without selection pressure. This first-generation integrative cloning vector is constructed solely of DNA from organisms consumed by humans and could be considered a food-grade vector system.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1999

[Legal aspects of quality assurance in medicine according to SGB V].

The German social security legislation has recognized only recently the concern of quality assessment in the field of social and medical services. The legal frame for quality assessment in the field of medical treatment was enacted in the sickness insurance provision (Social Code-Book V) only in 1989. Quality assessment is considered to be a part of the production of medical services and, therefore, is regulated in the context of providing medical services. The legal provisions do not establish standards for quality and quality assessment. Due to the variety of medical services, quality assessment is not regulated in an exhaustive or systematic manner. According to the law, providers of medical services (doctors, hospitals) are bound to participate in quality assessment. As internal quality assessment prevails in the definition of the various measures of quality assessment and the control of quality in all fields of medical treatment, external quality assessment is also prescribed for hospitals. Because the establishment of quality assessment is considered to be a part of the service production organization, consumers (patients) or their representatives are not involved in the definition, establishment, and control of quality assessment. The participation of patients should be provided by law.

Documentation↗
PubMed2004

Adaptive response of microbial communities to soluble microbial products.

We carried out two experiments to study the influence of soluble microbial products (SMP) on biomass concentration [defined as mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS)] and removal of soluble biological and chemical oxygen demands (sBOD5 and sCOD): (1) SMP were allowed to accumulate, and (2) SMP content was artificially reduced by washing the biomass. The daily initial sCOD in both experiments was kept constant at 859+/-6 mg/l for 16 days. In experiment 1, the highest sCOD removal (80%) occurred during the first day. Thereafter, it decreased successively to 40% [sludge retention time (SRT), 12 days], after which it increased steadily to 50+/-4%. Variations in residual sCOD were accompanied by variations in sBOD5, showing that the biodegradability of the accumulated SMP components was changing. MLSS fluctuated within the range 1,200+/-25-1,993+/-58 mg/l. We attributed the irregular accumulation of the biomass to variations in the biodegradability of SMP components. The initial sBOD5/MLSS ratio varied according to variations in initial sBOD5 and MLSS, whereas the residual ratio was constant at 0.025+/-0.008. This indicated a direct relationship between the concentrations of biomass and SMP produced. In experiment 2, MLSS increased from 1,200+/-25 to a constant value (2,810+/-16 mg/l; SRT, 12 days). After this time, no decrease or increase in MLSS was observed. Correspondingly, sCOD and sBOD5 removal increased from 80-97 to 84-99%. A stable microbial community that could consume organic matter efficiently was developed under these conditions.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2006

Rehabilitation medicine summit: building research capacity. Executive summary.

The general objective of the "Rehabilitation Medicine Summit: Building Research Capacity" was to advance and promote research in medical rehabilitation by making recommendations to expand research capacity. The 5 elements of research capacity that guided the discussions were researchers; research culture, environment, and infrastructure; funding; partnerships; and metrics. Participants included representatives of professional organizations, consumer groups, academic departments, researchers, governmental funding agencies, and the private sector. Small group discussions and plenary sessions generated an array of problems, possible solutions, and recommended actions. A post-Summit, multiorganizational initiative is called for to pursue the agendas outlined in this report.

Forecasting↗
PubMed2004

Heat-stable chloroplastic Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase in Chenopodium murale.

Chenopodium murale is a weed species having wide adaptation to different climatic regimes and experiences a temperature range of 5-45 degrees C during its life span. Higher temperatures may result in heat stress, which induces higher ROS production leading to oxidative stress in the plant. Superoxide dismutase enzyme (SOD, EC.1.15.1.1) is ubiquitous, being widely distributed among O(2)(-) consuming organisms and is the first line of defense against oxidative stress. In this study, we have characterized the thermostability of the SOD isozymes from C. murale in vitro. The leaf protein extracts, thylakoidal and stromal fractions were subjected to elevated temperatures ranging from 50 degrees C to boiling and analyzed for activity and isoform pattern of SOD. Out of six SOD isoforms, SOD V showed stability even after boiling the extract for 10min. Under high temperature treatment (>60 degrees C) there was an appearance of a new SOD band with higher electrophoretic mobility. The inhibitor studies and subcellular analysis revealed that the SOD V isoform was a chloroplastic Cu/Zn SOD. The stromal Cu/Zn SOD (SOD V) was more stable than the co-migrating thylakoidal isozyme at 80 degrees C and boiling for 10min. Hence, we report an unusual, constitutive thermostable chloroplastic Cu/Zn SOD from C. murale, which may contribute towards its heat tolerance.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed2006

Highly sensitive gold nanoparticles biosensor chips modified with a self-assembled bilayer for detection of Con A.

In this paper, an improved method for detection of Concanavalin A (Con A) with label-free optical biosensors is reported. 1-Dodecanethiol (DDT) was self-assembled onto gold nanoparticles which were deposited on glass slides, and then glycolipid molecules were inserted into dodecanethiol by physical interactions only. The recognition between Con A and carbohydrate was observed by UV-vis spectrophotometry. The absorption spectrum shifted when Con A was bound to the sugar residues of glycolipids immobilized onto nanogold slides, while almost no spectrum change was observed when another nonspecific protein molecule met the nanogold slides. The self-assembled bilayer on nanogold substrates had very high sensitivity for Con A, the minimum detection concentration of Con A can be down to 0.1 nM. In addition to the ultra sensitivity for investigating carbohydrate-lectin interaction, the self-assembled bilayer structure, is expected to replace many receptors which require time-consuming organic syntheses for the fixation to the transducer. The simplicity and sensitivity of this biosensor architecture once again show the prospect of nanogold application in biosensor.

Biosensing Techniques↗
PubMed2005

Endocrinology of milk production.

The physiology of lactation includes development of the mammary gland from the foetal to the adult stage, further development during pregnancy and onset of lactation, with the accompanying metabolic and behavioural adaptation. At the onset of pregnancy the endocrine system undergoes dramatic changes. The growth of the mammary gland is stimulated by growth hormone and prolactin, adrenocortical steroids, oestrogens and progesterone, and that of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract by gastrin, CCK and secretin. The onset of lactation is accompanied by increases in the blood volume, cardiac output, mammary blood flow and blood flow through the GI-tract and liver, aiming to provide the udder with nutrients and hormones for regulation of milk synthesis. Food intake and distribution of nutrients to the mammary gland are partially regulated by hormones as well as the repartitioning of nutrients away from body stores towards the udder. To improve milk production, administration of growth hormone has been practised, but also much discussed. Besides central mechanisms, local mechanisms within the mammary gland regulate initiation of lactation, maintenance, regulation of blood flow and mammary gland cell apoptosis. Most of the milk in a filled dairy cow udder is stored in the alveolar compartments. The milk ejection reflex must be activated to gain access to the udder milk, i.e. oxytocin contracts the myoepithelial cells. Recent studies show that vasopressin may also elicit milk ejection. More efficient oxytocin release is achieved if the cows are fed during milking. Beyond milk let down, oxytocin influences maternal behaviour and metabolism. Furthermore, it has been indicated that suckling or milking activates a vagal reflex, which may link the milk production to the endocrine system of the GI-tract. The question has been raised whether the mammary gland is a supporting or consuming organ.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Application of the BioRobot EZ1 in a forensic laboratory.

In a forensic laboratory, the routine application of an automated DNA extraction and purification robot has to fulfil several conditions, like producing reproducible DNA's of sufficient quantity and quality from all the different forensic biological stains relevant to various carrier materials. In this study, the suitability of the BioRobot EZ1 system from QIAGEN (Hilden, Germany), which offers fully automated extraction and purification of nucleic acids using magnetic bead technology, was tested. In summary, the DNA's obtained from the BioRobot EZ1 for different forensic relevant biological materials showed a quantity and quality comparable to those of the forensic standard protocols normally used in our laboratory. The system saves time, because there is no need of any further purification or concentration step after the automated DNA extraction. It can also be used as a replacement for time consuming organic extractions. A disadvantage of the system was the unsteady quality of the chemical regencies used by the robot. Nineteen different lots were tested with a self designed test system.

DNA↗
PubMed2002

Skin constructs for replacement of skin tissues for in vitro testing.

Reconstructed human skin equivalents as an alternative to animal experimentation offer not only a way to concede to demands of regulatory authorities, animal welfare organizations, consumers and scientists, but also provide a means to improve and extend our knowledge on biological processes in the skin. Presently, various skin reconstructs are available composed either of the epidermal compartment only or of both the epidermal and dermal compartments. Within each compartment various types of cells can be incorporated, including keratinocytes, melanocytes and Langerhans cells in the epidermal, and fibroblasts and endothelial cells in the dermal compartment. The quality of the human skin equivalents has now reached a point that their suitability for skin toxicity testing will make great progress. Next to the field of toxicity and safety standards, skin equivalents offer a well-characterized model for studies of the basic skin biology, wound repair, regulation of melanogenesis, pathogenesis of skin diseases and skin cancer.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Historical overview of generic medication policy.

OBJECTIVE: To provide a historical perspective on controversies surrounding the use of generic drugs. DATA SOURCES: Articles were indexed initially using terms such as generic medications, generic drugs, multisource medications, and multisource drugs. These terms were used to search indexing services such as MEDLINE, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, CINAHL (a database of nursing and allied health literature), Science Citation Index, Psychological Abstracts, and Wilson Indexes to Journal Articles. STUDY SELECTION: Performed by the authors, with preference given to events from 1951 to the present. DATA EXTRACTION: Not applicable. DATA SYNTHESIS: The history of generic drug use is a history of conflict from a variety of perspectives. The primary conflict is economic, in which manufacturers of brandname pharmaceuticals aggressively seek to protect their patents from a variety of groups (e.g., the federal government, managed care organizations, consumer groups) that want access to less expensive medications. Another conflict is professional, especially for the members of the pharmacy profession who view drug product selection as an important opportunity for pharmacists to use their professional judgment. The most confusing conflict is the scientific discussion of bioequivalence and product quality. The brand manufacturers suggest that not all products are bioequivalent and of the same quality. This position has been opposed by the pharmacy profession, generic drug manufacturers, health care institutions, and the Food and Drug Administration. CONCLUSION: Generic drug use has increased dramatically during the past 50 years and is an accepted part of health care. However, the economic consequences of generic drug use are sufficiently high for this activity to continue as a source of controversy in the future.

Drugs, Generic↗
PubMed2003

Electronic healthcare record; a way to empower the patient.

BACKGROUND: Patients are demanding a bigger role in the management of their own health and health care. METHODS: The Dutch Federation of Patient and Consumer Organizations (NPCF) has initiated several projects in this area. One project started in 2001 and aims at contributing to the development of a nation-wide EPR system. RESULTS: the NPCF participates in the National Institute for the Care Sector (NICTIZ). The NPCF plays an important role in defining the requirements regarding authorization and security of the EPR as well as for the legal framework in which optimal use can be made of the EPR. NPCF strongly promotes an active role of NICTIZ in developing a master plan for the EPR and an active role in its implementation. CONCLUSION: Patients and their organizations have to play an active role in designing and implementation of an ICT infrastructure for health care and in particular of the EPR.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

Continuous fermentative hydrogen production using a two-phase reactor system with recycle.

The effects of effluent recycle were examined in a two-phase anaerobic system where the first phase was operated for fermentative hydrogen production and the second for methanogenesis. The hydrogen reactor was operated as a chemostat at 35 degrees C and pH 5.5 with a 10 h hydraulic retention time, and the methane reactor was operated as an up-flow reactor at 28 degrees C and pH between 6.9 and 7.2. Two recycle ratios were examined: 0 and 0.98. Effluent recycle reduced the required alkalinity for pH control by approximately 40%. The H2 productivity metric, with a basis in electrons and incorporating both gaseous and dissolved H2, was developed as a more fundamental reporting method than the molar H2 yield. Without recycle, the H2 productivity was 0.115 g of H2 COD/g of feed COD, but decreased to 0.015 q of H2 COD/g of feed COD with recycle (COD = chemical oxygen demand). Mass balances indicated the lower H2 productivity during recycle was due to electrons being partitioned to methane and less-oxidized soluble constituents such as propionic acid, ethanol, and butanol. The results indicated that achieving high H2 productivity with nonsterile wastewaters will be challenging and membrane filtration of the recycle liquid may be required to exclude the return of hydrogen-consuming organisms.

1-Butanol↗
PubMed2004

Improving the fatty acid profile of fairy shrimp, Streptocephalus dichotomus, using a lipid emulsion rich in highly unsaturated fatty acids.

Fatty acids are the largest component of lipids and have become a useful tool in the determination of live feeds to a variety of cultured species. Bioencapsulation is a technique which allows high-level incorporation of desired components (i.e., fatty acids, vitamins, antibiotics, etc.) in live feeds, which in turn can be supplemented to the consumer organisms. The procedure described in the present study serves as a platform of technology for enriching the Streptocephalus dichotomus. Uptake of two enrichment diets (ALGAMAC2000 and DHA-SELCO) by adult S. dichotomus was investigated. The fatty acid profile supports the hypothesis that the enrichment diet increases the level of essential fatty acids, such as linolic, linolenic, eicosapentenoic, and docosahexaenoic acids. The average content (percent of total fatty acids detected) of the enriched organism by different highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) products were as follows: ALGAMAC2000 showed 14-22% saturated fatty acid (SFA), 17-18% monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA), 28-41% polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), 23-34% n-3, and 4.9-7.5% n-6, whereas DHA-SELCO showed about 20-23% SFA, 20-26% MUFA, 38% PUFA, 28-31% n-3, and 7.5-10% n-6. Our present investigation proves that both HUFA-rich diets appear to be an appropriate enrichment diet, and further provides an additional rationale for using fairy shrimp as a maturation diet for any cultivable freshwater organism.

Animals↗