Guidelines for the communication of Biomonitoring Equivalents: report from the Biomonitoring Equivalents Expert Workshop.

Biomonitoring Equivalents (BEs) are screening tools for interpreting biomonitoring data. However, the development of BEs brings to the public a relatively novel concept in the field of health risk assessment and presents new challenges for environmental risk communication. This paper provides guidance on methods for conveying information to the general public, the health care community, regulators and other interested parties regarding how chemical-specific BEs are derived, what they mean in terms of health, and the challenges and questions related to interpretation and communication of biomonitoring data.

Load rather than contraction type influences rate of perceived exertion and pain.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether muscle contraction type (concentric [CON] or eccentric [ECC]) or loading (relative or absolute) has a greater impact on the perceptual and metabolic responses to conventional resistance exercise. Additionally, overall effort, pain sensations, and specific pain descriptors were compared with physiological responses. Seven healthy men (mean +/- SE, 25.

Relative adrenal insufficiency in patients with acute spinal cord injury.

Introduction: Relative adrenal insufficiency has been shown to occur in the settings of critical illness and septic shock, impairing the body's ability to respond to stress. Studies have demonstrated that the treatment of adrenal insufficiency (AI) results in shock reversal, hemodynamic stability, and a subsequent decrease in mortality. Endocrine changes and AI have been reported in patients with spinal cord injuries during their extended courses of rehabilitation.

Affective responses to exercise are dependent on intensity rather than total work.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare affective responses for two bouts of cycle ergometry with differing duration and intensity, but equal total work in kilocalories.

Methods: Thirty-seven participants (20 male, 17 female, mean age 23.9 yr) completed a multistage cycle ergometer protocol to determine ventilatory threshold (VT) and peak oxygen consumption (mean = 34.

Fully automated FISH examination of amniotic fluid cells.

Objective: Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis has become a valuable adjunct in cytogenetics, providing a rapid screen for common chromosome abnormalities that is particularly helpful in prenatal diagnosis. FISH analysis using standard microscopy is expensive and labor intensive, requiring both a high skill level and subjective signal interpretation. A reliable fully automated system for FISH analysis could improve laboratory efficiency and potentially reduce errors and costs.

Aminophylline for the treatment of symptomatic bradycardia and asystole secondary to cervical spine injury.

Introduction: Bradycardia is a common complication of cervical spine damage in the weeks following injury, occurring in up to 100% of patients in some studies. Cardiac arrest and asystole have been reported in as many as 15% of these patients and cardiac events are the main cause of death within the first year. We describe the case of a 25-year-old African-American male involved in a motor vehicle collision who suffered C6-C7 subluxation.

Maximal eccentric and concentric strength discrepancies between young men and women for dynamic resistance exercise.

Although research has demonstrated that isokinetic eccentric (ECC) strength is 20-60% greater than isokinetic concentric (CON) strength, few data exist comparing these strength differences in standard dynamic resistance exercises. The purpose of the study was to determine the difference in maximal dynamic ECC and CON strength for 6 different resistance exercises in young men and women. Ten healthy young men (mean +/- SE, 25.

Magnetic resonance imaging study of the orbitofrontal cortex in autism.

The orbitofrontal cortex is involved in multiple psychologic functions, such as emotional and cognitive processing, learning, and social behavior. These functions are variably impaired in individuals with autism. The present study examined the size of the orbitofrontal cortex, and its medial and lateral subdivisions, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans obtained from 40 non-mentally retarded individuals with autism and 41 healthy controls.

Automated microscopy of amniotic fluid cells: detection of FISH signals using the FastFISH imaging system.

Objective: FISH (fluorescence in situ hybridization) analysis is a valuable adjunct to cytogenetics that provides a rapid screen for common abnormalities. However, FISH is expensive, labor-intensive, and requires a high skill level and subjective signal interpretation. A fully automated system for FISH analysis could improve laboratory efficiency and potentially reduce errors and costs.

Monitoring of changes in substrate characteristics during mushroom compost production.

Substrates from three mushroom compost facilities in Northern Ireland, employing similar production technologies, were examined to assess the quality of the compost produced. Biochemical investigation highlighted changes in substrates through each step of the production cycle. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) provided useful information on fiber fraction content and extent of substrate breakdown.

The expanding panorama of split hand foot malformation.

The split hand/foot malformation is a developmental defect of the extremities resulting from errors in the initiation and maintenance of the apical ectodermal ridge. The phenotype is genetically heterogeneous, and it can be identified either as an isolated phenotypic manifestation or as a constituent component of a malformation syndrome. This overview describes the clinical phenotype, related animal models, and the evolving genetic heterogeneity of the malformation.

Visible and near-infrared calibrations for quality assessment of fresh phase I and II mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) compost.

Previous studies have shown that visible and near-infrared spectra (Vis-NIR) of dry and milled compost can be used for generating partial least squares (PLS) calibrations of phase II compost parameters including ammonia, nitrogen dry matter (NDM), dry matter (DM), pH, conductivity, carbon, microbial population, and potential productivity. The objective of this study was to develop robust calibrations for some of the key parameters from the spectra of fresh phase I and II composts. Samples of substrates from six commercial production yards were obtained during winter and summer months of 2000-2004 to monitor changes in quality and were analyzed for the test factors.

College students' motivation for physical activity: differentiating men's and women's motives for sport participation and exercise.

Despite the many clear benefits of an active lifestyle, lack of physical activity is a significant health problem in the college population. A key issue in physical activity research is developing an understanding of motivation. Although physical activity takes many forms, most research designed to enhance motivation for and adherence to physical activity focuses on exercise behavior and ignores sport participation.

Prediction of potential mushroom yield by visible and near-infrared spectroscopy using fresh phase II compost.

Potential mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) yield of phase II compost is determined by interactions of key quality parameters including dry matter, nitrogen dry matter, ammonia, pH, conductivity, thermophilic microorganisms, C : N ratio, fiber fractions, ash, and certain minerals. This study was aimed at generating robust visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) calibrations for predicting potential yield, using spectra from fresh phase II compost. Four compost comparative trials were carried out during the winter and summer months of 2001-2003, under controlled experimental conditions employing six commercially prepared composts, with eight replicate (8 bag) plots per treatment (48 x 8 = 384).

Potential therapy paradigms for Marfan syndrome.

Marfan syndrome is the most common genetic disorder of the connective tissue with an estimated prevalence of 1:10,000. The disease is characterised by manifestations in the cardiovascular, skeletal and ocular systems. The most severe manifestations are those of the cardiovascular system: mitral valve prolapse and dilation of the aortic root, which may progress to aortic dissection, a common cause of mortality in patients.

Endogenously expressed multimeric self-cleaving hammerhead ribozymes ablate mutant collagen in cellulo.

Hammerhead ribozymes are small catalytic RNA molecules that can be targeted to any RNA molecule containing a putative cleavage site. We developed a vector (pCOLZ) that uses the COL1A1 promoter to drive expression of a self-cleaving multimeric ribozyme (M8Rz547) and its monomeric counterpart (Rz547). The ribozymes were stably coexpressed in MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts expressing a truncated COL1A1 target transcript.

Dose-intensive thoracic radiation therapy for patients at high risk with early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer.

Recent studies suggest that radiation therapy (RT) dose escalation in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is feasible when 3-dimensional therapy is used. However, the accompanying prolongation of the treatment course when standard fractionation is used could be suboptimal from a practical and biologic standpoint. We report results of a compressed course of RT for patients with pathologically documented clinical stage 1 NSCLC who were unsuitable for curative surgery because of pulmonary dysfunction or other medical comorbidities.

Automated detection of rare fetal cells in maternal blood: eliminating the false-positive XY signals in XX pregnancies.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to develop a new method to help differentiate XX from XY signals in maternal blood from women carrying XY fetuses.

Study Design: We have developed a system to scan automatically for cells that bear X and Y fluorescence in situ hybridization signals. These XY target cells are identified by scans at low (x20) magnification, and all identified targets are revisited and verified at high (x100) magnification.

Haplotype analysis enables the diagnosis of Marfan syndrome.

Marfan syndrome is an inherited disorder of connective tissue associated with aneurysmal rupture of the ascending aorta. Timely and accurate diagnosis has reduced the mortality and morbidity associated with this disorder through expectant observation and implementation of appropriate prophylactic therapy. To this end, haplotype analysis using polymorphic genetic markers in close proximity to the Fibrillin-1 gene (FBN1) were employed to aid in the diagnosis of two individuals who did not meet the clinical diagnostic criteria.

Dynamic gain control of dopamine delivery in freely moving animals.

Activity changes in a large subset of midbrain dopamine neurons fulfill numerous assumptions of learning theory by encoding a prediction error between actual and predicted reward. This computational interpretation of dopaminergic spike activity invites the important question of how changes in spike rate are translated into changes in dopamine delivery at target neural structures. Using electrochemical detection of rapid dopamine release in the striatum of freely moving rats, we established that a single dynamic model can capture all the measured fluctuations in dopamine delivery.

Enhanced intracellular availability and survival of hammerhead ribozymes increases target ablation in a cellular model of osteogenesis imperfecta.

Antisense hammerhead ribozymes have the capability to cleave complementary RNA in a sequence-dependent manner. In osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder of connective tissue, mutant collagen type I has been shown to participate in but not sustain formation of the triple helix. Selective ablation of mutant collagen gene transcript could potentially remove the mutant gene product and reverse the dominant-negative effect exerted by the abnormal protein.