Environmental exposure and distribution of lead in four species of raptors in Southeastern Spain.

The purpose of this study was to monitor exposure to lead in four species of raptors in Southeastern Spain (Murcia Region). Samples of liver, kidney, brain, blood, and bone from two species of diurnal raptors (European kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) and European buzzard (Buteo buteo)) and two species of nocturnal raptors (Eagle owl (Bubo bubo) and Little owl (Athene noctua)) were obtained during 1994. Relationships were found between size and age of the birds, the nearness to areas of human activity and lead concentrations in tissues.

Biological monitoring of occupational exposure to isoflurane by measurement of isoflurane exhaled breath.

The relationship between isoflurane environmental concentrations in operating rooms and the corresponding isoflurane concentration in the exhaled air of the operating personnel at the end of the exposure has been investigated. Isoflurane was retained in an adsorbent cartridge and after thermal desorption the concentration was estimated by gas chromatography. Significant correlation between environmental and exhaled air isoflurane concentrations allowed the establishment of a biological exposure index and biological exposure limits corresponding to proposed atmospheric threshold values.

Cytokine serum profiles in allergic and non-allergic asthma. Increased production of IL-10 by non-allergic asthmatic patients.

Studies were undertaken to determine whether differences in serum cytokine balances could be involved in the pathogenesis of allergic and in non-allergic asthma. At this propose, interferon-gamma, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-2, interleukin-4, interleukin-6, and interleukin-10 were measured by enzimoimmunoassay. The analysis was performed on 24 allergic and 24 non-allergic asthmatic patients and 16 healthy subjects.

[Atypical internuclear ophthalmoplegia in a patient with subacute lymphocytic meningitis].

The local expression of tuberculous meningitis has an high incidence. They respond to a Koch bacillus direct lesion or vasculitis disease. The clinic implication of ocular movement is frequent and usually answers to a nervous trunk direct injury.

Application of dimorphism in teeth to age calculation.

The objective of this study was to determine which teeth provide the most reliable data for use in age estimation. We studied 170 teeth from the anterior region (central and lateral incisors, and canines) and used an image analysis technique to analyse a number of morphometric features in thin sections of tooth. Our results showed root translucency to be the variable most clearly related to the subject's age, and the canine teeth to provide the most reliable information on this variable.

Effect of the ACE inhibitor ceronapril on cerebral blood flow in hypertensive patients.

Objective: To assess the effect of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor ceronapril on cerebral blood flow (CBF) in patients with moderate hypertension.

Design: Patients received chlorthalidone 25 mg for 4 weeks, and if diastolic blood pressure remained in the range of 100-115 mm Hg, they were given titrated doses of ceronapril (10-40 mg/d based on blood pressure response) in addition to chlorthalidone for 9 weeks.

Setting: Outpatient research clinic.

Purge-and-trap method for the determination of styrene in urine.

A purge-and-trap method for biological monitoring of styrene in urine was developed. Sorbent tubes packed with Tenax TA were used to trap styrene vapour purged from urine. Thermal desorption-gas chromatography was used for sorbent tubes analysis.

Anti-hypertensive effects of intravenous compared with oral captopril.

Twenty mild to moderate hypertensive subjects (11 men, 9 women, mean age 54.3 years, range 39-65 years) were studied to determine whether an intravenous form of captopril could be as safe and efficacious as an oral form and to estimate the time course of anti-hypertensive action over a wide dose range (100-fold) of i.v.

Creatine kinase BB and neuron-specific enolase in cerebrospinal fluid in the diagnosis of brain insult.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers provide useful information about the extent of brain damage. These biochemical indices may also be used when postmortem histopathological examination does not confirm antemortem brain insult. Seven biochemical parameters--creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase BB isoenzyme (CK-BB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), gamma-glutamyltransferase, aldolase, leucine aminopeptidase (LAP), and neuron-specific enolase (NSE)--were analyzed in CSF from 82 cadavers.

Biochemical assessment of acute myocardial ischaemia.

Aims: To evaluate the efficacy of biochemical parameters in different fluids in the diagnosis of myocardial infarction of different causes, analysed after death.

Methods: The myoglobin concentration and total creatine kinase (CK) and creatine kinase MB isoenzyme (CK-MB) activities were measured in serum, pericardial fluid, and vitreous humour from seven diagnostic groups of cadavers classified according to the severity of myocardial ischaemia and cause of death. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and myosin were measured only in serum and pericardial fluid, and cathepsin D only in pericardial fluid.

Legal status of persons with chronic mental illness admitted to psychiatric hospitals.

Psychiatric patients have been, and continue to be, victims of social rejection, a phenomenon that has led to their de facto marginalization. The historical evolution of Western society has been characterized by a tendency to move from laws that preferentially protect society from a perceived threat from individuals with mental illness towards laws intended to protect and defend the interests of these individuals. The spirit of the current legislative framework is to protect persons with mental illness and to guarantee the protection of each and every one of their rights.

Violence in the family setting: an analysis of mistreatment of minors and women.

Family structure is one of the most important reference models in the learning of antisocial patterns of behaviour, and has been described as one of the major socialization agencies for children. Violence in the family setting is a fact in Spanish society, and must be analysed within the wider framework of social violence. We studied the incidence of physical and psychological abuse in the family setting.

Usefulness of myosin in the postmortem diagnosis of myocardial damage.

In some situations the postmortem diagnosis of myocardial infarction is made difficult by the brief course of the fatal episode or by interferences caused by autolysis. In such cases, biochemical indices may provide a useful adjunct to morphological studies. Myosin is the main component of the contractile apparatus of muscle cells, so its determination may well be useful to evaluate myocardial injury.

Study of the enzymatic activity of GGT, LDH, PAP and PSA in semen stains: application to age calculation.

The conditions under which semen stains are stored can markedly affect the stability of some of their biochemical parameters. Because of the resistance of semen to processes of degradation and denaturation, the age of the stain may, under optimum conditions, be calculated. We studied six series of semen stain placed on absorbent natural cloth under three different storage temperatures: 5 degrees C (refrigerator), 18-25 degrees C (room temperature), and 38 degrees C (incubator).

Correlation between concentrations of n-hexane and toluene in exhaled and environmental air in an occupationally exposed population.

We determined the correlations between the concentrations of n-hexane and toluene in exhaled and environmental air in the shoe manufacturing industry. Data were collected in 1988 and in 1992 from a total of 265 subjects. Environmental air samples were collected with personal diffusive samplers by adsorption on activated charcoal during exposure and from end-expired air (alveolar air) on cartridges of activated charcoal after exposure.

Placing medical information in the hands of the judiciary: medicolegal problems.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the potential problems associated with sending hospital patients' medical records to different levels of the judiciary. Transmittal of such information may create a conflict between the duty to cooperate with the legal system and the patient's right to privacy. In our analysis of a total of nearly 380 such transmittals of medical histories in Spain, we found that approximately 90% involved possible negligence on the part of the hospital administration.

Medicolegal problems associated with do not resuscitate orders.

The use and potential abuse of the do not resuscitate (DNR) order has wide-ranging ethical, legal and economic implications. A DNR order is essential for clear communication between health care professionals, but the order itself may affect the care that patients subsequently receive. In addition, the DNR order may be a crucial therapeutic decision point in the care of the critically ill.

Morphometric study of teeth in age calculation.

The diagnostic usefulness of some morphometric parameters of teeth in age determination were studied. In the first series 173 central incisors from 13-83 year-old individuals were examined and in the second series 72 teeth from 30 individuals (aged 39 to 80 years). Root transparency and dentinal tubule diameter were the most reliable parameters on the basis of image analysis (IBAS system) of scanning electron microscopic images.

Psychological traits and criminal profiles.

The aim of this study was to determine whether certain personality traits in adolescents and children were significantly associated with juvenile maladjustment, and, if so, whether these psychological variables could be used in individual criminological classification. We studied a total of 303 subjects (185 males, 118 females) ranging in age from 11 to 21 years inclusive. All subjects were from centres under the administration of the juvenile court and from the Murcia City Penitentiary (Spain).

Biological monitoring of occupational exposure to n-hexane by exhaled air analysis and urinalysis.

To compare two methods of biological monitoring for the evaluation of risk of occupational exposure to n-hexane, we analyze the relationship between environmental exposure to this solvent and urinary excretion of 2,5-hexanedione and n-hexane in exhaled air in 69 workers employed in the shoe industry. Environmental exposure to the solvent was monitored with personal diffusive samplers, which were desorbed with carbon sulfide and analyzed by gas chromatography. To measure 2,5-hexanedione, urine was subjected to acid hydrolysis, separation in octadecyl silane columns, elution with 5% aqueous acetonitrile solution and extraction with dichloromethane, followed by gas chromatography.

Family violence as a determinant factor in juvenile maladjustment.

The family is one of the major socialization agencies for children. Parents are one of the most important models from whom the child and adolescent acquire a wide variety of behavior patterns, attitudes, values, and norms. The aim of this study was to determine the importance of factors related to family conflicts in the genesis of social maladjustment.

Incidence of residual levels of organophosphorus insecticides in farm produce in the Region of Murcia, Spain. Comparison of intake in the 1985-86 and 1989 campaigns.

We calculated the effective dietary exposure to 20 organophosphorus insecticides in a sample of residents of the Region of Murcia (Spain). Calculations were based on the contamination of 2310 specimens of citrus fruits, pitted and seedy fruits and vegetables collected in the 1985-86 and 1989 campaigns. A comparison of the results from the two campaigns showed that the mean annual insecticide ingestion determined from the mean consumption of each type of farm produce fell from 7.