Smoking cessation at the pharmacy: feasibility and benefits based on a French observational study with six-month follow-up.

Background: In comparison to other European countries, the number of smokers remains high in France. Approximately five million smokers wish to quit within the year and need support that is local, easily accessible, and efficient. As public health actors, pharmacists could provide this service.

[Does tobacco smoking induce significant artificial irradiation?].

Artificial irradiation due to tobacco smoking is a widely accepted phenomenon, but the possible health implications are controversial. The IAEA has estimated that smoking twenty cigarettes a day induces a total "radiation exposure" of 53 mSv, but several other authors have estimated that the effective dose is only about 0.4 mSv/year.

Symptoms and serum precipitins in workers exposed to dry sausage mould: consequences of exposure to sausage mould.

Objective: Hypersensitivity pneumonitis due to dry sausage mould has been reported in workers who brush off the excess mould which coats dry sausage. Prevalence of symptoms and sensitization to mould among these pork-butchery workers is unknown. The aim of the study was to assess the clinical, radiographic, functional, and immunological features in exposed and non-exposed workers in semi-industrial pork butcheries.

High levels of cytokeratin 19 fragments but no evidence of cytokeratins 1, 2, 10/11, 14 or filaggrin in the serum of squamous cell lung carcinoma patients.

The CYFRA 21-1 assay detects circulating fragments of cytokeratin 19, which is a sensitive marker for the diagnosis of lung cancers, particularly squamous cell carcinomas and adenocarcinomas. Epidermis-type proteins, such as cytokeratins 1, 2, 10/11 and 14 or filaggrin, are also expressed in squamous cell carcinomas. These could also be pertinent tumor markers, ideally as sensitive as CYFRA 21-1 and more specific for squamous cell lung cancer.

Evaluation of seven tumour markers in pleural fluid for the diagnosis of malignant effusions.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigens 15-3, 19-9 and 72-4 (CA 15-3, CA 19-9 and CA 72-4), cytokeratin 19 fragments (CYFRA 21-1), neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC) were evaluated in pleural fluid for the diagnosis of malignant effusions. With a specificity of 99%, determined in a series of 121 benign effusions, the best individual diagnostic sensitivities in the whole series of 215 malignant effusions or in the subgroup of adenocarcinomas were observed with CEA, CA 15-3 and CA 72-4. As expected, a high sensitivity was obtained with SCC in squamous cell carcinomas and with NSE in small-cell lung carcinomas.