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Biomedical subjects

J Kríz

Publications and source records attributed to J Kríz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

An epidemiologic-immunological inquiry into the incidence of altered immunity in children of school age.

The authors examined 536 children 10 years of age to evaluate their immune status and the development of allergies and recurrent respiratory inflammations. Altered resistance was found in as many as 47% of children, pollen allergy and atopic eczema in at least 10.5%, habitual rhinitis in 15.2%, asthma in 3.5% and recurrent inflammatory infections in 13.1%. A higher rate of alterations was found where environmental conditions were deteriorated. Elevated IgE, changes in IgG, IgA and IgM as well as increased levels of acute phase proteins suggest a relationship between the degree of immune impairment and clinical manifestations. Our results imply there are large numbers of children with altered immunity and point to the fact that in common practice only 14% of them are attended to by the clinical immunologist and thus receive causal treatment. It is therefore concluded that, in line with the expansion of noxious factors which accompany our civilization, more attention should be given to the development of immunity in the young population.

Child

[Abnormal placement of the testes].

The authors defined a uniform classification of abnormal positions of the testes. They recommend also a uniform therapeutic procedure: after the first year of life treatment with human chorionic gonadotropin in one or two curves, if orchiopexy fails.

Cryptorchidism

[Evaluation of lead poisoning in an exposed pediatric population before and following control of the source].

In the surroundings of a large lead mill, which emitted in the 70 years up to 250 t of lead per year and where the maximum allowable daily immission concentrations of 0.7 microgram/m3 were exceeded by a factor of 20-30, in children mean blood levels above 45 micrograms/100 ml blood were determined. At the beginning of the 80 years the mill had modernised the filter constructions. The emission was decreased to 10% of the original value. The immissions decreased by 50% and the blood lead level in children by 10 to 20%. It could be shown, that the soil was furthermore contaminated and vegetables and fruits contained increased lead levels. Additional measures are to be realised to diminish exposure. The situation described is an example for the long latency of positive changes in the environment and in the health state of the population following environmental preventive measures.

Air Pollutants, Occupational

Immunoglobulins and some serum proteins in children with altered resistance coming from areas with variously polluted atmosphere.

In four areas with different types of atmospheric pollution 534 children of school age were examined for serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM and IgE), saliva IgA (sIgA), lysozymes (LYS) and acute phase reactants (alfa-l-antitrypsin - A1AT, alfa-2-macroglobulin -A2M, ceruloplasmin -CPL, transferrin - TRF). The children were divided into two groups: those with altered resistance (AR) comprising allergoses of all types and recurrent or persistent infections and those without the above health problems, i.e. healthy (H). There were more children with AR in areas with higher atmospheric pollution than in control areas. The frequency of AR was higher among boys than among girls. In the control area BN, a number of parameters in the AR group differed significantly from those in the H group. In areas with substantial atmospheric pollution these differences were generally less pronounced. Significant differences were found between the control and polluted areas in many indicators. In the area KO characterized by an intermediate degree of industrial pollution the means of the tested parameters were habitually elevated, whereas in the heavily polluted areas they were decreased. The most sensitive tests for evaluating differences between the areas were the levels of A1AT, LYS, and IgE, while the variations of sIgA, sLYS and CPL were less pronounced.

Air Pollution

[Bilateral traumatic dislocation of the hip joint in a 10-year-old boy].

The author demonstrates a case of bilateral traumatic dislocation of the hip joint in a child. The prerequisite of successful treatment of this injury is early and careful reposition, sufficiently long immobilization of the injured joint, intensive rehabilitation in bed, and elimination of burdening before it is established that avascular necrosis did not develop.

Child

Relationship of blood protein levels to outdoor air pollutant concentrations in a semicohort of school-age children living in urban areas differing by quality of air.

Variations in some humoral immune responses to polluted air were studied in two semicohorts of children, initial age 10 years, from two urban communities differing from each other by the degree of ambient air pollution. The material for analysis (blood, saliva) was collected every autumn and spring in 3 successive years, giving a total of 6 sets of specimens for each examinee. All blood specimens were examined for the serum level of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM), lysozyme (LYS), total serum protein (TP) and the level of the acute reactants alpha 2 macroglobulin (A2M), alpha 1 antitrypsin (A1AT), transferrin (TRF) and ceruloplasmin (CPL). The saliva specimens were examined for the level of lysozyme (sLYS) and secretory IgA (sIgA). The mean protein concentrations for each of the 6 sampling series were correlated with the mean of 24-h emission concentrations measured in the last 3 months preceding the autumn or spring sampling series. In the community area characterized by a low-degree non-industrial pollution of air the correlations of immunoglobulins to SO2 and floating particles (FP) in air were as a rule inversed while the response from TP, LYS and acute reactants was direct. In the community contaminated by industrial pollutants, correlations between proteins and SO2 were markedly weaker, but there was a significant positive correlation between H2S and levels of IgA and A2M in blood and sIgA and sLYS in the saliva. A high degree of positive correlation was also observed between H2S and levels of IgM and LYS. Inverse correlations were only between levels of LYS and FP, SO2 and H2S. Significant correlations were also between contaminant concentrations and FP. The associations found between the contaminant concentrations in air and levels of blood and saliva proteins supports the hypothesis that quality of air may have considerable impacts on defense mechanisms. Seasonal variations in the quality of air may increase the rates of childhood morbidity for acute upper respiratory tract infections.

Acute-Phase Proteins

Seasonal variations in the level of immunoglobulins and serum proteins of children differing by exposure to air-borne lead.

A semicohort of children, initial age about 11.5 years, from an exposure area near a secondary lead smelting plant (E group children) was examined for some humoral immune response parameters in the blood and saliva and compared to a group of control children matched by age living in a relatively unpolluted rural area (Co group children). All examinations were performed every autumn and spring over a period of 2 successive years, and the data included in the final analysis were only from children who had completed at least 3 of the 4 examination series performed. To sum up, children from area E showed a clearcut elevation of mean blood lead (Pb) levels with marked seasonal fluctuations peaking in spring; Pb levels in the blood of Co group children had no such season-related fluctuation patterns and tended to slightly decline over the two years of observation. Delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratases (ALAD) levels in area E were of distinctly lower mean values than in area Co, but no correlation with mean blood Pb levels could be observed. Levels of IgG were more or less inversely correlative with Pb levels in both sexes, levels of IgM showed a distinct downward trend in E group children at all samplings. Total serum protein (SP) levels of children from area E showed a reverse correlation with plumbemia, secretory IgA (sIgA) concentrations showed a decrease in E group children of both sexes, but the values tended to converge with control values. Levels of alpha 1-antitrypsin (A 1-AT) showed marked season-related fluctuation patterns in Co children, the curves in E group children turned steeply upward from the third examination series on. Ceruloplasmin (CPL) levels in E group children had a clearcut upward trend at three subsequent blood samplings, the curves in Co group children continued to drop. Children from area E showed markedly higher frequency rates of abnormal values than did children from Co area.

Air Pollutants

The influence of countryside school environment on the levels of immunoglobulins and blood proteins in school children.

In the group of 26 schoolchildren (11 girls and 19 boys) coming from an area with strong air-pollution the venous blood and saliva were taken before and three weeks after the sojourn in the countryside school environment. The mean levels of IgG and IgA in serum significantly rose during the sojourn, but the IgM levels increased insignificantly only. The mean levels of alpha 1-antitrypsin and alpha 2 macroglobulin significantly decreased, whereas the levels of transferrin increased significantly. Subnormal values in individual tests were estimated at 38 percent of children before the sojourn, but at the end of the sojourn only 11.5 percent of children remained subnormal. The values over the upper limit of normal were, before the sojourn assessed, at 11.5 percent of children in some of the tests, whereas 53.8 percent were found after the sojourn. The results are discussed from the point of view of a stimulating influence on the resistance mechanisms during the sojourn in the unpolluted area.

Air Pollution

[Neomorphinism].

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Adult

The interrelations of some humoral factors of resistance with the prevalence of respiratory diseases in children. I. The differences among the protein levels in healthy and ill children.

The prevalence of respiratory diseases was followed in a group of 80 children (39 boys and 41 girls) of mean age 12.4 +/- 0.9 years during the part of school year (November - May incl.). The specimen of blood was taken from all studied children before the study started and the values of nine serum proteins were measured (IgG, IgA, IgM, IgE, alfa 1-antitrypsin = A 1-AT, transferrin = TRF, ceruloplasmin = CPL, alpha 2-macroglobulin = A 2M, lysozyme = LYS), as well as levels of two secretory proteins in saliva (sIgA and sLYS). The difference between the subgroup of boys, who fall into some respiratory illness during the observation time, and those who remain healthy, did not reach the level of significance. In contrast, the girls subgroup revealed significantly higher respiratory morbidity. With those girls, who remained healthy, the levels of serum IgE were highly increased and A 1-AT level weakly increased compared to ill girls. The level of TRF and CPL were significantly decreased with the healthy girls.

Blood Proteins

Levels of secretory immunoglobulin A, lysozyme (muramidase) and albumin in healthy adults of different ages.

The content of secretory IgA (sIgA,) lysozyme and albumin was studied in the saliva of 40 health-service employees of different ages without evident signs of disease. The levels of lysozyme decrease significantly with the advancing age whereas those of sIgA and albumin do not decrease up to the age of 55. The levels of lysozyme and sIgA show a significant mutual correlation.

Adult

Analysis of polychlorinated biphenyls by high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary gas-liquid chromatography.

Seventy fractions were obtained by vacuum distillation of a PCB mixture containing 42% of chlorine. Four of these fractions were chosen, the composition of which covered the whole of the observed region, and analysed by means of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on silica gel using n-pentane as the mobile phase and capillary gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) using OV-101 and Carbowax 20M as stationary phases at 200 degrees C. The chosen distillation fractions were further prepared by HPLC, each yielding 10-14 samples. Individual PCB standards and all samples were analysed by HPLC and capillary GLC. These procedures permitted the identification of those compounds which are eluted simultaneously under the conditions used in either HPLC or capillary GLC alone.

Chromatography, Gas