A systematic review of the health outcomes related to household water quality in developing countries.

In developing countries, the microbial contamination of household drinking water is implicated in the prevalence of various diseases. This systematic review is concerned with two health outcomes, general diarrhoea and cholera, and their relationship with water quality at point-of-use. Observational studies investigating this relationship are reviewed, as well as studies of home water treatment and storage interventions.

Measurement of the phase diagram of DNA unzipping in the temperature-force plane.

We separate double stranded lambda phage DNA by applying a fixed force at a constant temperature ranging from 15 to 50 degrees C, and measure the minimum force required to separate the two strands. The measurements also offer information on the free energy of double stranded DNA (dsDNA) at temperatures where dsDNA does not thermally denature in the absence of force. While parts of the phase diagram can be explained using existing models and free energy parameters, others deviate significantly.

Dynamic control of liquid-core/liquid-cladding optical waveguides.

This report describes the manipulation of light in waveguides that comprise a liquid core and a liquid cladding (liq/liq waveguide). These waveguides are dynamic: Their structure and function depend on a continuous, laminar flow of the core and cladding liquids. Because they are dynamic, they can be reconfigured and adapted continuously in ways that are not possible with solid-state waveguides.

Sex workers in Kenya, numbers of clients and associated risks: an exploratory survey.

In Kenya in 1999, an estimated 6.9% of women nationally said they had exchanged sex for money, gifts or favours in the previous year. In 2000 and 2001, in collaboration with sex workers who had formed a network of self-help groups, we conducted an exploratory survey among 475 sex workers in four rural towns and three Nairobi townships, regarding where they worked, the number of clients they had and the risks they were exposed to.

Enhancement of phase space density by increasing trap anisotropy in a magneto-optical trap with a large number of atoms.

The phase space density of dense, cylindrical clouds of atoms in a 2D magneto-optic trap is investigated. For a large number of trapped atoms (>10(8)), the density of a spherical cloud is limited by photon reabsorption. However, as the atom cloud is deformed to reduce the radial optical density, the temperature of the atoms decreases due to the suppression of multiple scattering leading to an increase in the phase space density.

Coherent matter-wave manipulation in the diabatic limit.

Guided systems for coherent matter waves are expected to offer substantial improvements over unguided systems, but adiabatic coupler proposals have proven difficult to realize. We outline instead considerations for a coherence-preserving diabatic approach enabling filters, couplers, and interferometers that can accept multimode guide inputs of up to magneto-optical-trap temperatures.

The relationship between cyclooxygenase-2 expression and characteristics of malignant transformation in human colorectal adenomas.

Background And Aims: Cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) is a target of aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and is implicated in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the extent of COX-2 in pre-malignant colorectal polyps and to assess the relationship between COX-2 and the level of dysplasia in these lesions.

Methods: Whole polypectomy specimens were retrieved from 123 patients by endoscopic or surgical resection.

Household drinking water in developing countries: a systematic review of microbiological contamination between source and point-of-use.

Objective: To assess the extent and causes of microbiological contamination of household drinking water between source and point-of-use in developing countries.

Methods: A systematic meta-analysis of 57 studies measuring bacteria counts for source water and stored water in the home to assess how contamination varied between settings.

Results: The bacteriological quality of drinking water significantly declines after collection in many settings.

Attitudes to doctors and medicine: The effect of setting and doctor-patient relationship.

OBJECTIVE: There have been few studies of attitudes to doctors and medicine, despite their potential importance in health psychology. The present study examines the effect on attitudes of setting (general practice vs. antenatal) and context (specific doctors vs.

Estimation of ten-year risk of fatal cardiovascular disease in Europe: the SCORE project.

Aims: The SCORE project was initiated to develop a risk scoring system for use in the clinical management of cardiovascular risk in European clinical practice.

Methods And Results: The project assembled a pool of datasets from 12 European cohort studies, mainly carried out in general population settings. There were 20,5178 persons (88,080 women and 11,7098 men) representing 2.

Prognostic relevance of Fas (APO-1/CD95) ligand in human colorectal cancer.

Objective: Fas ligand (FasL) is an important mediator of immune function and induces apoptosis by binding to its receptor Fas on sensitized cells. It has recently been shown that malignancies may express FasL and acquire immune privilege by inducing apoptosis of lymphocytes. Acquired resistance to Fas mediated apoptosis is known to be an early event in carcinogenesis.

A new predictor of cephalopelvic disproportion?

Cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD) is a recognised obstetric problem with potential risk to both mother and infant. Identification of those mothers at risk of CPD is difficult and has concentrated in the past on such measurements as maternal shoe size and height. Our objective in this study was to examine new anthropomorphic parameters as indicators of CPD.

Infiltrating immune cells, but not tumour cells, express FasL in non-small cell lung cancer: No association with prognosis identified in 3-year follow-up.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains a difficult disease to treat and independent prognostic markers other than tumour stage and histology have not emerged. The immune cell content of solid tumours has been associated with tumour regression and at times, tumour progression. The involvement of immune cells in prognosis of NSCLC is poorly described.

The relation between maternal work, ambulatory blood pressure, and pregnancy hypertension.

Study Objective: The purpose of the study was to determine the relations between maternal work, ambulatory blood pressure in mid-pregnancy, and subsequent pregnancy outcome.

Design: Data were studied on 933 healthy normotensive primigravidas who had been enrolled into a study on the predictive value of ambulatory blood pressure measurement performed between 18 and 24 weeks gestation. They were classified into three groups depending on whether they were at work (working group, n=245), not working (not working group, n=289), or normally employed but chose not to work (ENK group, n=399), on the day monitoring was performed.

Immune function, telomerase, and angiogenesis in patients with primary, operable nonsmall cell lung carcinoma: tumor size and lymph node status remain the most important prognostic features.

Background: Lung carcinoma usually is advanced at the time of presentation and frequently shows metastatic spread. In recent times, prognostic factors such as c-erbB-2 in patients with breast carcinoma have provided useful information and beneficial therapeutic targets. The objective of this study was to evaluate angiogenesis, immune function, and telomerase expression in patients with nonsmall cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) to determine their prognostic significance.

Solar disinfection of drinking water protects against cholera in children under 6 years of age.

Background And Aims: We have previously reported a reduction in risk of diarrhoeal disease in children who used solar disinfected drinking water. A cholera epidemic, occurring in an area of Kenya in which a controlled trial of solar disinfection and diarrhoeal disease in children aged under 6 had recently finished, offered an opportunity to examine the protection offered by solar disinfection against cholera.

Methods: In the original trial, all children aged under 6 in a Maasai community were randomised by household: in the solar disinfection arm, children drank water disinfected by leaving it on the roof in a clear plastic bottle, while controls drank water kept indoors.

Effect on neonatal tetanus mortality after a culturally-based health promotion programme.

The Maasai have high rates of death from neonatal tetanus, partly due to their custom of packing the umbilical stump with cow dung. We report on the effect of a simple health promotion programme, designed in consultation with the local community and carried out by local women. After introduction of the programme in 1981, neonatal (<6 weeks of age) tetanus rates fell sharply, and by 1988 annual death rates had dropped to 0.

A five year review of scar dehiscence in the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin.

The aims of this study were to identify risk factors for scar dehiscence in labour, to illustrate the clinical presentations of patients with scar dehiscence and to quantify the risk posed by the use of oxytocin in labour. This was a case controlled, 5 year retrospective study. Patients with scar dehiscence were identified from labour ward records with matched controls and chart review of case and control patients were performed.

Plasma P-selectin is elevated in the first trimester in women who subsequently develop pre-eclampsia.

Objective: To report plasma concentrations of the adhesion cell molecule P-selectin during pregnancy to determine the effect of subsequent development of hypertension and pre-eclampsia.

Design: A longitudinal study.

Methods: A longitudinal study involving 70 women followed up from early pregnancy; 20 who subsequently developed pre-eclampsia were compared with 24 who developed gestational hypertension and 26 normotensive women with normal obstetric outcome.

Dissection: a positive experience.

First-year medical students were surveyed by questionnaire to assess levels of stress and physical symptoms resulting from their experience of the anatomy room. There was a 100% response rate from the 188 students. Most students (95%) found the prospect of their first visit to the anatomy room exciting.

Three-year outcome of endovascular treatment of superficial femoral artery occlusion.

Hypothesis: Patency after primary percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) and stenting of superficial femoral artery (SFA) occlusions is better than historical experience with PTA alone.

Design: Consecutive case series of primary PTA with stenting, and follow-up with duplex imaging every 6 months (mean +/- SD follow-up, 32 +/- 15 months).

Setting: Veterans Affairs medical center.

Maternal plasma vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations in normal and hypertensive pregnancies and their relationship to peripheral vascular resistance.

Objective: The aim of this study was to measure maternal plasma vascular endothelial growth factor concentrations during normal and hypertensive pregnancies and examine their relationship with maternal total peripheral resistance values.

Study Design: Plasma concentrations of total immunoreactive vascular endothelial growth factor and total peripheral resistances were measured serially throughout pregnancy in 20 women with preeclampsia, 24 women with gestational hypertension, and 26 normotensive control women. One-way analysis of variance and a regression model were used to analyze the vascular endothelial growth factor levels in the groups and the relationship between vascular endothelial growth factor concentration and total peripheral resistance.