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Effect of sidestream tobacco smoke components on alpha/beta interferon production.

Mouse embryo fibroblast cell cultures were treated with chemicals that are major components of sidestream (passive) cigarette smoke. These components were 4-aminobiphenyl and aniline-HCl. The cultures produced severely reduced levels of alpha/beta interferon after challenge with polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid when compared to control cultures. Treatment of additional cell cultures with 2-methylquinoline, and intermediate-level component of sidestream tobacco smoke, or hydrazine-sulfate, a minor component of sidestream tobacco smoke but a major component of mainstream (active) tobacco smoke, also resulted in inhibition of interferon induction with polyriboinosinic acid-polyribocytidylic acid. Therefore, treatment of the cell cultures with chemicals that are carcinogenic was equally effective in inhibiting alpha/beta interferon induction without regard to the sidestream or mainstream smoke origin of the chemical.

Aminobiphenyl Compounds↗

An in vitro study of the onset of turbulence in the sinus of Valsalva.

During systole a small portion of the mainstream aortic flow is intercepted by the sinus ridge, or downstream corner of the sinus of Valsalva. This fluid curls back toward the ventricle to form a large eddy, or vortex, that spins within the sinus cavity. The fluid motion within similar recirculating flows is known to be unstable with an early transition to turbulence. The stability of the aortic sinus vortex was examined in the current study in an in vitro pulsatile flow rig. The geometry of the experimental test section was the same as the geometry of the natural aortic root. Different model valves, including a natural valve, were placed in the test section, and different flow conditions were studied. Point velocities were measured by hot film probes placed at two locations within the sinus vortex. The velocity waveforms and their power spectra were used to determine the stability of the sinus flow. The experimental results revealed that the aortic sinus vortex becomes turbulent under simulated exercise conditions. Turbulent intensities were highest near the sinus ridge, which is the location of the coronary ostia. Despite the transition to turbulence within the vortex, the mainstream aortic flow upstream from the valve remained laminar. The turbulence within the vortex was also associated with vibration of the valve leaflets under exercise conditions. These vibrations may be related to the systolic ejection murmurs that are heard clinically. Furthermore, the localized turbulence may explain the location of atherosclerotic lesions and dissecting aneurysms, as well as the distribution of the lesions of bacterial endocarditis.

Animals↗

Short-term cigarette smoke exposure enhances allergic airway inflammation in mice.

RATIONALE: Epidemiologic studies suggest that tobacco smoke contributes to the prevalence and occurrence of exacerbations in asthma. The effect of active smoking in adolescents with atopy is poorly understood. OBJECTIVES: We developed an experimental model to investigate the influence of smoking on antigen-induced airway inflammation and airway responsiveness in mice that were previously sensitized. METHODS: Ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized BALB/c mice were exposed to air or mainstream smoke (5 days/week) and to phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) or OVA aerosol (3 times/week) for 2 weeks (n = 8 for each group). RESULTS: Airway responsiveness to intravenously injected carbachol was increased (p < 0.05) in smoke- and OVA-exposed mice compared with all other groups. There was an additive effect of smoke and OVA exposure on total cell numbers, macrophages, and dendritic cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and on CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes and dendritic cells in lung tissue (p < 0.05 compared with mice exposed to smoke and PBS and to mice exposed to air and OVA). Concurrent smoke and OVA exposure augmented OVA-specific IgE in serum compared with air and OVA exposure. In lavage fluid supernatant, eotaxin was increased in air- and OVA-exposed mice. The further increase observed in the group exposed to both OVA and cigarette smoke came close to formal significance (p = 0.06). Thymus- and activation-regulated chemokine was augmented in mice exposed to either smoke or OVA, without additional effect. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that acute concurrent exposure to allergen and mainstream cigarette smoke enhances airway inflammation and airway responsiveness in previously sensitized mice.

Animals↗

Effect of cigarette smoke exposure in vivo on bronchial smooth muscle contractility in vitro in rats.

Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for the development of airway hyperresponsiveness and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Little is known concerning the effect of cigarette smoking on the contractility of airway smooth muscle. The current study was performed to determine the responsiveness of bronchial smooth muscles isolated from rats that were subacutely exposed to mainstream cigarette smoke in vivo. Male Wistar rats were exposed to diluted mainstream cigarette smoke for 2 h/d every day for 2 wk. Twenty-four hours after the last cigarette smoke exposure, a marked airway inflammation (i.e., increases in numbers of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and peribronchial tissues) was observed. In these subacutely cigarette smoke-exposed animals, the responsiveness of isolated intact (nonpermeabilized) bronchial smooth muscle to acetylcholine, but not to high K+ -depolarization, was significantly augmented when compared with the air-exposed control group. In alpha-toxin-permeabilized bronchial smooth muscle strips, the acetylcholine-induced Ca2+ sensitization of contraction was significantly augmented in rats exposed to cigarette smoke, although the contraction induced by Ca2+ was control level. Immunoblot analyses revealed an increased expression of RhoA protein in the bronchial smooth muscle of rats that were exposed to cigarette smoke. Taken together, these findings suggest that the augmented agonist-induced, RhoA-mediated Ca2+ sensitization may be responsible for the enhanced bronchial smooth muscle contraction induced by cigarette smoking, which has relevance to airway hyperresponsiveness in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Acetylcholine↗

What happens to patients after five years of intensive case management stops?

Seventy-two patients who received five years of intensive case management services were transferred into mainstream community mental health center services with a much higher patient-to-staff ratio. At the end of a two-year follow-up, 91 percent of the patients were still receiving treatment. Compared with the previous five years, hospitalizations during the follow-up period increased, but not significantly so. Contacts with mainstream CMHC services increased significantly. Overall costs in constant 1979 dollars showed a nonsignificant decrease, dropping by about $1,500 per patient per year. The staff time and resources gained by the programmatic changes were used to treat a larger number of chronic patients seeking services.

Adult↗

Analysis of science textbook recommendations provided for students with disabilities.

Teachers' manuals from three major elementary science textbook series were analyzed. These textbooks provided specific instructional recommendations for students with disabilities in mainstream classes. Findings reveal that (a) the textbooks did not provide recommendations for all categories of disabilities as defined in Public Law 94-142; (b) many recommendations did not specifically address the learning needs of the students for whom they were intended; and (c) there were no consistency in the nature of recommendations provided for any given category of disability. Results indicate that special education and mainstream teachers should monitor the usefulness of published materials that claim to meet the needs of students with disabilities.

Child↗

Self-perceptions of first- and second-grade children with learning disabilities.

The present study addressed the question of the effects of developmental positive bias and repeated experiences of failure on the self-perception of mainstreamed first-and second-grade Israeli children with learning disabilities. The self-perceptions of 44 children with learning disabilities and their 36 nondisabled classmates were assessed. In addition, teachers' evaluations and objective measures of cognitive performance and social acceptance were gathered. The children with learning disabilities were found to have a greater positive bias and lower self-perception in the cognitive competence domain than their normally achieving peers. Self-perceptions of peer acceptance among children with learning disabilities are similar to their normally achieving peers' self-perceptions, in spite of their significantly lower sociometric ratings and teacher evaluations in the social domain. These findings are analyzed in the context of the globality-specificity dimension of self-perceptions at the age level studied. The obtained pattern of self-perceptions is discussed in the light of the interrelationships between cognitive deficit and experimental factors among mainstreamed first- and second-grade children.

Achievement↗

Tobacco smoke and otitis media in the chinchilla model.

To determine whether tobacco smoke contributes to the pathogenesis of acute otitis media, chinchillas were exposed to mainstream tobacco smoke or sham conditions (cigarettes not lit) in a Walton smoke exposure machine for 20-minute cycles two or three times daily. After 6 to 8 weeks of daily exposure, 12 chinchillas were nasally injected with Streptococcus pneumoniae, and 18 chinchillas were injected into both middle ears with nontypable Haemophilus influenzae. Smoke or sham exposures were continued for 2 to 4 weeks after injection. Otitis media developed in none of the 12 nasally injected chinchillas and in all 18 chinchillas whose middle ears were injected with nontypable Haemophilus influenzae. Persistence of middle ear effusion and persistence of nontypable Haemophilus influenzae in the middle ear effusion were not different between the smoke- and sham-exposed groups. This suggests that mainstream smoke exposure does not change the natural course of otitis media in the chinchilla model.

Acute Disease↗

A comparative study of dementia care in England and the Netherlands using neo-institutionalist perspectives.

In this article, the authors compare dementia care in England and the Netherlands. They used qualitative methods to explore recommended standards of service provision and perceived achievements in mainstream care. They found some similarities in recommended standards and in major shortcomings in mainstream services: notably, weaknesses of generic services in supporting patients and carers, and failure to achieve integrated care. Priorities regarding service provision differed. Whereas in England, a social model of care was used to encourage empowerment of both the person with dementia and the carer, Dutch care professionals focused more on "warm care concepts" and on support of the carer rather than the patient. The balance between community care and institutional care also differed. The authors used neo-institutionalist concepts to explore these similarities and differences as embedded in the (historically developed) structural and cultural contexts of the respective health and social care systems.

Delivery of Health Care↗

Food, health and psychology: competing recipes for research and understanding.

Mainstream and post-postivist approaches to psychological research are compared with regard to healthy eating and eating disorders. The tendency of the mainstream operationally to define key concepts is contrasted with the post-positive preference for conceptual analysis and an example of this is considered in relation to theory of planned behaviour research. The reason why the search for a causal mechanism for major eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa has proved unfruitful becomes transparent once the phenomena are construed as action, as opposed to behaviour. Some of the methodological problems and issues arising within the post-positivist approaches are discussed using illustrative examples of autoethnographic research into eating episodes.

Behavioral Medicine↗

The case for a pluralist health psychology.

Hepworth (2006) offers a timely and insightful review of critical health psychology. A pluralist health psychology can accommodate the interests and concerns of all psychologists working in the health field. Health inequalities are neglected by the mainstream and yet policy makers at national and international level are giving this a high priority. Also, ecological validity and replicability of mainstream quantitative studies are unacceptably low while qualitative studies are being increasingly utilized. Hepworth's passionate call to action is an appeal that no psychologist with a concern for human wellbeing can easily ignore.

Behavioral Medicine↗

Do we need critical health psychology or rather critical health psychologists?

In her article Julie Hepworth discusses the definition of critical health psychology and its position within the field of health psychology. We understand that she is inclined to favour a position of critical health psychology that is separate from and in opposition to mainstream health psychology. In contrast to this, we are convinced that the important concerns of critical health psychology are better served by efforts to help mainstream health psychologists think and work more strongly from a critical perspective.

Behavioral Medicine↗

Brief report: prevalence of autism spectrum conditions in children aged 5-11 years in Cambridgeshire, UK.

The study aimed to establish prevalence of the broader autistic spectrum, including Asperger syndrome, in 5- to 11-year-olds in Cambridgeshire, UK. Cases of diagnosed autism spectrum condition (ASC) in children who were in Cambridgeshire schools and aged between 5 and 11 years on 31 December 1999 were sought using public records, screening instruments, educational psychology and special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) records. We report a prevalence of ASC in the age group 5-11 years of almost 0.6 percent (57 in 10,000). This is 11 times higher than the rate of classic autism but in line with other recent national and international rates for the broader spectrum. In the responding mainstream schools the prevalence was 0.33 percent. In the responding special school population it was 12.5 percent. The overall sex ratio of the children with ASC replicated findings for classical autism of 4:1 (M:F), but in those children being educated in mainstream schools the sex ratio was 8:1 (M:F).

Autistic Disorder↗

Autistic spectrum disorder: a child population profile.

This study analyses the prevalence of ASD, comorbidity, educational provision and ability in autistic children in a single health district, born between 1983 and 1996. The number of recorded diagnoses doubled over a 4 year period. This appeared to be due to greater recognition of ASD in more able children, in children initially presenting with ADHD, and possibly in females. ADHD accounted for a substantial proportion of comorbidity. Age at diagnosis appeared to be related to school placement. Cognitive ability levels ranging from more than three standard deviations below the mean to more than one standard deviation above the mean were found in the moderate and severe learning difficulty school population as well as in the mainstream population. Exceptionally low levels of verbal ability were present in a high proportion of mainstream pupils. Measured levels of cognitive function show poor relationship with actual educational placement.

Adolescent↗

Sleep paralysis as spiritual experience.

This article presents an overview of the sleep paralysis experience from both a cultural and a historical perspective. The robust, complex phenomenological pattern that represents the subjective experience of sleep paralysis is documented and illustrated. Examples are given showing that, for a majority of subjects, sleep paralysis is taken to be a kind of spiritual experience. This is, in part, because of the very common perception of a non-physical 'threatening presence' that is part of the event. Examples from various cultures, including mainstream contemporary America which has no widely known tradition about sleep paralysis, are used to show that the complex pattern and spiritual interpretation are not dependent on cultural models or prior learning. This is dramatically contrary to conventional explanations of apparently 'direct' spiritual experiences, explanations that are summed up as the 'Cultural Source Hypothesis.' This aspect of sleep paralysis was not recognized through most of the twentieth century. The article examines the way that conventional modern views of spiritual experience, combined with medical ideas that labeled 'direct' spiritual experiences as psychopathological, and mainstream religious views of such experiences as heretical if not pathological, suppressed the report and discussion of these experiences in modern society. These views have resulted in confusion in the scientific literature on sleep paralysis with regard to its prevalence and core features. The article also places sleep paralysis in the context of other 'direct' spiritual experiences and offers an 'Experiential Theory' of cross-culturally distributed spiritual experiences.

Affect↗

A systematic review of how homeopathy is represented in conventional and CAM peer reviewed journals.

BACKGROUND: Growing popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in the public sector is reflected in the scientific community by an increased number of research articles assessing its therapeutic effects. Some suggest that publication biases occur in mainstream medicine, and may also occur in CAM. Homeopathy is one of the most widespread and most controversial forms of CAM. The purpose of this study was to compare the representation of homeopathic clinical trials published in traditional science and CAM journals. METHODS: Literature searches were performed using Medline (PubMed), AMED and Embase computer databases. Search terms included "homeo-pathy, -path, and -pathic" and "clinical" and "trial". All articles published in English over the past 10 years were included. Our search yielded 251 articles overall, of which 46 systematically examined the efficacy of homeopathic treatment. We categorized the overall results of each paper as having either "positive" or "negative" outcomes depending upon the reported effects of homeopathy. We also examined and compared 15 meta-analyses and review articles on homeopathy to ensure our collection of clinical trials was reasonably comprehensive. These articles were found by inserting the term "review" instead of "clinical" and "trial". RESULTS: Forty-six peer-reviewed articles published in a total of 23 different journals were compared (26 in CAM journals and 20 in conventional journals). Of those in conventional journals, 69% reported negative findings compared to only 30% in CAM journals. Very few articles were found to be presented in a "negative" tone, and most were presented using "neutral" or unbiased language. CONCLUSION: A considerable difference exists between the number of clinical trials showing positive results published in CAM journals compared with traditional journals. We found only 30% of those articles published in CAM journals presented negative findings, whereas over twice that amount were published in traditional journals. These results suggest a publication bias against homeopathy exists in mainstream journals. Conversely, the same type of publication bias does not appear to exist between review and meta-analysis articles published in the two types of journals.

Bias↗

Clinical and outcome research in oncology. The need for integration.

Cancer is one of the main healthcare problems in Europe. Although significant progress has recently been made, long-term survival is still disappointing for most common solid tumours. The explosion of information has strengthened the need to create and sustain coordinated interaction between technology, biology, clinical research, clinical practice and health policy. A simple process based on automatic and passive translation from bench to clinical research and eventually to the bed side is usually assumed but cannot be taken for granted. A critical role might be played by Outcome Research (OR), defined as the discipline that describes, interprets, and predicts the impact of various influences, especially interventions, on final endpoints (from survival to satisfaction with care) that matter to decision makers (from patients to society at large), with special emphasis on the use of patient-reported outcomes (PRO). Recently, under pressure from several parts of society, the FDA, recognizing the need for faster drug approval, has modified existing regulations and created new rules to allow anti-cancer drugs to be approved more quickly and, in certain but quite common circumstances, single arm trials and surrogate endpoints to be used as measures of clinical benefit. In this context, the faster approval process may lead to drugs being marketed without there being a complete picture of how effective or safe they are. The FDA move to speed up drug approval, together with the use of not fully validated surrogate endpoints, give OR the unique opportunity to help understand the value of drugs that have received accelerated approval. Despite this opportunity, OR has yet to demonstrate its role in this specific setting and provide proof of the validity, reliability and added value of its primary endpoint measures when evaluated in a broader context. The implementation of lines of OR in the development and evaluation of anti-cancer drugs hinges upon the availability of specific knowledge, methods, instruments and resources and upon their appropriate integration in the mainstream of clinical research. In the USA specific interdisciplinary projects have been launched by the NCI. In Europe there is a lack of such initiatives. The correct placement of OR in the anti-cancer drug development process will guarantee the highest possible standard of validity and reliability of OR at European level and better integration of both translational and outcome research in the mainstream of clinical research into anti-cancer drugs, thus speeding up the introduction of the results of patient-oriented translational clinical research into clinical practice.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

Chiropractic as spine care: a model for the profession.

BACKGROUND: More than 100 years after its inception the chiropractic profession has failed to define itself in a way that is understandable, credible and scientifically coherent. This failure has prevented the profession from establishing its cultural authority over any specific domain of health care. OBJECTIVE: To present a model for the chiropractic profession to establish cultural authority and increase market share of the public seeking chiropractic care. DISCUSSION: The continued failure by the chiropractic profession to remedy this state of affairs will pose a distinct threat to the future viability of the profession. Three specific characteristics of the profession are identified as impediments to the creation of a credible definition of chiropractic: Departures from accepted standards of professional ethics; reliance upon obsolete principles of chiropractic philosophy; and the promotion of chiropractors as primary care providers. A chiropractic professional identity should be based on spinal care as the defining clinical purpose of chiropractic, chiropractic as an integrated part of the healthcare mainstream, the rigorous implementation of accepted standards of professional ethics, chiropractors as portal-of-entry providers, the acceptance and promotion of evidence-based health care, and a conservative clinical approach. CONCLUSION: This paper presents the spine care model as a means of developing chiropractic cultural authority and relevancy. The model is based on principles that would help integrate chiropractic care into the mainstream delivery system while still retaining self-identity for the profession.

Journal Article↗