[Tobacco, alcohol and psychotropic drugs in Lorraine, epidemiological survey of the general population].

The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of the use of tobacco, alcohol and psychotropic drugs by the people of Lorraine and characterise the consumption behaviours of that population. The sample consisted of 6571 people from the ages of 18 to 74 who were randomly selected from the telephone directory and were interviewed through the use of a self-questionnaire sent out by mail. The behaviours vary according to sex and gender.

Reversal of hepatoma cells resistance to anticancer drugs is correlated to cell proliferation kinetics, telomere length and telomerase activity.

Background: Clinical and experimental observations indicate that resistance to anticancer drugs may be spontaneously reversible over time.

Materials And Methods: This work is a mathematical and statistical analysis of the relationship, during a 9-month experiment, between the resistance of repeatedly re-seeded hepatoma cells to methotrexate (MTX) or to cisplatin (cisP) and untreated cell proliferation, telomere length and telomerase activity.

Results: All variables showed complex oscillations, as previously published.

Toward a better understanding on the mechanism of ortholithiation. Tuning of selectivities in the metalation of meta-anisic acid by an appropriate choice of base.

[reaction: see text] If employed in THF at 0 degrees C, LTMP metalates meta-anisic acid at the doubly activated position. In contrast, n-BuLi/t-BuOK deprotonates position C-4 preferentially at low temperature. Functionalization at C-6 requires protection of the C-2 site beforehand.

Identification of novel small molecule inhibitors of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 that differentially block hypoxia-inducible factor-1 activity and hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha induction in response to hypoxic stress and growth factors.

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) is a transcriptional complex that is activated in response to hypoxia and growth factors. HIF-1 plays a central role in tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis. Overexpression of the HIF-1alpha subunit has been observed in many human cancers and is associated with a poor prognostic outcome with conventional treatments.

Early T-cell responses to dengue virus epitopes in Vietnamese adults with secondary dengue virus infections.

T-cell responses to dengue viruses may be important in both protective immunity and pathogenesis. This study of 48 Vietnamese adults with secondary dengue virus infections defined the breadth and magnitude of peripheral T-cell responses to 260 overlapping peptide antigens derived from a dengue virus serotype 2 (DV2) isolate. Forty-seven different peptides evoked significant gamma interferon enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assay responses in 39 patients; of these, 34 peptides contained potentially novel T-cell epitopes.

Chronic exposure to anesthetic gases affects balance control in operating room personnel.

Exposure to anesthetic gases is known to alter certain structures and functions of the central nervous system. As the effects of long-term exposure on balance control mechanisms have been the subject of few investigations, these were evaluated in 53 operating room personnel exposed to anesthetic gases and in 53 non-exposed individuals. Balance control was assessed by static and dynamic posturography.

Relationships of working conditions and individual characteristics to occupational injuries: a case-control study in coal miners.

This study assessed the relationship of age, poor perception of working condition, poor safety environment, poor management and supervision, risk-taking behavior, emotional instability, negative job involvement, job dissatisfaction, job stress, and poor safety performance of workers to occupational injuries. This case-control study was conducted on 202 male coal miners with at least one occupational injury during a five-year period and 202 male controls with no occupational injury, matched on the job. A standardized questionnaire administered by individual interviewers was used.

Opportunistic infections in hospitalized HIV-infected adults in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: a cross-sectional study.

The HIV epidemic is emerging rapidly in Vietnam. We studied the prevalence of opportunistic infections by performing clinical and microbiological investigations in 100 hospitalized HIV-infected adults in Ho Cho Minh City, Vietnam. The median CD4 count was 20 cells/mm(3) and in-hospital mortality was 28%.

Deterministic dynamics control oscillations of bone marrow cell proliferation.

Objective: The production of blood cells in vivo, both normal and tumoral, displays oscillatory dynamics. Many cells in long-term cultures also show large amplitude oscillations of proliferative rate. Therefore we examined the proliferation dynamics of mouse bone marrow cells (MBM) and their clonogenic progenitor production (BMP), in order to characterize these dynamics.

Correlates of occupational injuries for various jobs in railway workers: a case-control study.

Few studies have simultaneously addressed the role of occupational factors, individual characteristics and living conditions in occupational injuries, and to the best of our knowledge none on railway workers. This survey assessed the roles of these factors in various types of injuries and for various jobs in French railway workers. This case-control study was conducted on 1,305 male workers with an occupational injury during a one-year period and 1,305 male controls.

Size and charge characteristics of the protein leak in dengue shock syndrome.

Background: he mechanism underlying the transient vascular leak syndrome of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) is unknown. We aimed to determine whether molecular size and charge selectivity, which help restrict plasma proteins within the intravascular space, are altered in patients with DHF and whether a disturbance of the anionic glycosaminoglycan (GAG) layer on the luminal endothelial surface contributes to disease pathogenesis.

Methods: We measured serial plasma levels and fractional clearances of proteins with different size and charge characteristics in 48 children with dengue shock syndrome (DSS) and urinary excretion profiles of heparan sulfate, chondroitin-4-sulfate, and chondroitin-6-sulfate in affected children and healthy control subjects.

Sensorial organisation favouring higher visual contribution is a risk factor of falls in an occupational setting.

The contribution of intrinsic balance control factors to fall mechanisms has received little investigation in studies on occupational accidents. The aim of this study was to assess whether postural regulation in falling workers might have specificities in terms of sensorimotor strategies and neuromuscular responses to balance perturbations. Nine multi-fall-victims (MF), 43 single-fall-victims (SF) and 52 controls (C) were compared on performance measurements of static and dynamic postural control.

Growth factor-mediated induction of HDM2 positively regulates hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha expression.

The hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) transcriptional complex is regulated by cellular oxygen levels and growth factors. The phosphoinosotide 3-kinase (PI-3K)-Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) pathway has been shown to regulate HIF-1 activity in response to oncogenic signals and growth factors. We assessed whether the HDM2 oncoprotein, a direct target of Akt/PKB, could regulate HIF-1alpha expression and HIF-1 activity under normoxic conditions.

Relationships between certain individual characteristics and occupational injuries for various jobs in the construction industry: a case-control study.

Background: There is little published about the role of individual characteristics in occupational injuries. Construction workers have a high rate of injury; we assessed 11 personal characteristics in this professional sector.

Methods: A case-control study was conducted on 880 male workers who had had at least one occupational injury during a 2-year period and 880 controls.

Akt2: a role in breast cancer metastasis.

Metastasis in breast cancer significantly increases morbidity and mortality. The 5-year survival rate reduces from 90% for localised disease to about 20% once metastasis has taken place. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt signalling pathway has an important role in cell motility, invasion and metastasis.

Relationships of job and some individual characteristics to occupational injuries in employed people: a community-based study.

This study assessed the associations of job and some individual factors with occupational injuries among employed people from a general population in north-eastern France; 2,562 workers were randomly selected from the working population. A mailed auto-questionnaire was filled in by each subject. Statistical analysis was performed with loglinear models.

Togetherness among Plasmodium falciparum gametocytes: interpretation through simulation and consequences for malaria transmission.

Previous experimental gametocyte infections of Anopheles arabiensis on 3 volunteers naturally infected with Plasmodium falciparum were conducted in Senegal. They showed that gametocyte counts in the mosquitoes are, like macroparasite intakes, heterogeneous (overdispersed). They followed a negative binomial distribution, the overdispersion coefficient seeming constant (k = 3.

Relationships of job, age, and life conditions with the causes and severity of occupational injuries in construction workers.

Objectives: To assess the relationships of job, age, and life conditions with the causes and severity of occupational injuries in male construction labourers.

Methods: The sample included 880 male construction workers having had at least one occupational injury with subsequent sick leave. The survey used a standardised questionnaire, filled in by the occupational physician in the presence of the subject: socio-demographic data, job, safety training, smoking habit, alcohol consumption, sporting activities, physical disabilities, hearing, vision, and sleep disorders.

Individual characteristics in occupational accidents due to imbalance: a case-control study of the employees of a railway company.

Background: Falls are frequent occupational accidents, and are responsible for a significant amount of lost working time and, more importantly, for a high mortality. The factors involved in falling mechanisms can be of external or individual origin, the latter being less well identified.

Aims: To assess the relations between certain individual characteristics and occupational accidents due to imbalance.

[School-related injuries: incidence, causes, and consequences].

Background: School accidents are frequent but little epidemiological information is available to guide prevention. In this study we examined the incidence, causes, and consequences of school accidents as a function of the pupil's characteristics.

Methods: An epidemiological study was conducted in all 2 396 adolescents attending two secondary school groups.

Coagulation abnormalities in dengue hemorrhagic Fever: serial investigations in 167 Vietnamese children with Dengue shock syndrome.

The pathophysiological basis of hemorrhage in dengue infections remains poorly understood, despite the increasing global importance of these infections. A large prospective study of 167 Vietnamese children with dengue shock syndrome documented only minor prolongations of prothrombin and partial thromboplastin times but moderate to severe depression of plasma fibrinogen concentrations. A detailed study of 48 children revealed low plasma concentrations of the anticoagulant proteins C, S, and antithrombin III, which decreased with increasing severity of shock, probably because of capillary leakage.

Falls and working individuals: role of extrinsic and intrinsic factors.

Falls are frequent occupational accidents involving workers and lead to important social and economic consequences both for the individual and for the employer. Different factors can modify balance control and lead to falling, especially environment-related and individual factors. The literature would appear to indicate that there have been few studies on the intrinsic factors involving the mechanisms of generating falls.

Quality of life in patients at risk of medullary thyroid carcinoma and followed by a comprehensive medical network: trends for future evaluations.

Background: As shown in a previous study, the knowledge of the genetic risk in individuals belonging to families at risk of medullary-thyroid carcinoma (MTC) could be associated with impaired quality of life (QoL).

Patients And Methods: In the present study, we compared the QoL scores obtained in the same period with the subjective quality of life profile (SQLP): in 82 individuals at risk of MTC who had been tested for Ret-mutations; in 200 women at risk of familial breast/ovarian cancer syndrome (BOC); and in a control population of 3,501 healthy volunteers.

Results: Significant differences were observed in favour of healthy volunteers as well as individuals at risk of MTC, over women at risk of BOC (mean scores: 0.

Prevalence of impairments, disabilities, handicaps and quality of life in the general population: a review of recent literature.

Objective: To determine the prevalence rates of morbidity in the general population through bibliographic research.

Methods: Articles relating to impairment, disability, handicap, quality of life and their prevalence in the general population, published between January 1990 and March 1998, were selected on the MEDLINE database.

Findings: The 20 articles retained out of 433 used 41 different indicators.