Re-assessing ICR GAC Treatment Study Database: Effect of Bromide on DBP Formation.

While granular active carbon (GAC) can effectively remove disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors, its use has raised concerns over increased formation of some brominated DBP species in treated water following postchlorination, especially for waters with high bromide concentrations. The Information Collection Rule Treatment Study Database contains results of the most extensive GAC studies ever conducted nationwide. Data were analyzed to assess the extent of DBP speciation changes and overall reduction of brominated DBPs by GAC to gain new insights of the bromide effect.

Deteriorating Water Distribution Systems Can Impact Public Health.

Distribution system infrastructure issues can affect water reliability and quality and could contribute to waterborne disease outbreaks. It's important to know potential contamination mechanisms and consider rehab and replacement options.

'Too-much-of-a-good-thing'? The role of advanced eco-learning and contingency factors on the relationship between corporate environmental and financial performance.

Inspired by the natural-resource-based view (NRBV) theory, we attempt to shed light on a controversy which has been persistent over the last decade, concerning the relationship between corporate environmental performance (CEP) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Using the 'too-much-of-a-good-thing' (TMGT) concept, which suggests that "too much can be worse than too little," we link mixed results and consider the roles of advanced eco-learning and contingency factors in influencing the CEP-CFP relationship. Based on a sample composed of ISO 14001 certified companies in Indonesia, and analyzing the data using consistent Partial Least Squares (PLSc), we found that: the CEP-CFP relationship follows an inverted U-shape; advanced eco-learning is a significant predictor of the CEP-CFP relationship, meaning that organizations able to develop higher eco-learning capability will be better able to identify the ideal boundaries of investment in environmental performance without reducing their financial performance; and that contingency factors such as environmental strategy and firm size have a significant role in influencing the CEP-CFP relationship.

Can bedside assessment reliably exclude aspiration following acute stroke?

Objective: To investigate the ability of a bedside swallowing assessment to reliably exclude aspiration following acute stroke.

Subjects: Consecutive patients admitted within 24 h of stroke onset to two hospitals.

Methods: A prospective study.

Intra-specific host sharing in the manipulative parasite Acanthocephalus dirus: does conflict occur over host modification?

The acanthocephalan parasite Acanthocephalus dirus induces a colour change in the intermediate host, the aquatic isopod Caecidotea intermedius, which increases transmission to definitive hosts (creek chub, sunfish). We examined the potential for conflict to occur between infective (cystacanth) and non-infective (acanthor, acanthella) stages of A. dirus over the level of colour modification that should be induced when these stages share a host.

Do respiratory symptoms predict chronic airflow obstruction and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in older adults?

Background: Respiratory symptoms are common in older adults. In young populations the predictive value of such symptoms for chronic airflow obstruction and bronchial hyperresponsiveness is low. We investigated whether symptoms predict airflow obstruction and bronchial responsiveness in adults aged 45-86 years.

The relationship between age and bronchial responsiveness: evidence from a population survey.

Objectives: Increased bronchial responsiveness is a feature of symptomatic asthma, and it predicts the onset of wheezing. We have investigated the relationship between bronchial responsiveness and age in a population sample with an age range of 45 to 86 years.

Design: Cross-sectional population survey.

Improving outcomes in elderly patients with asthma.

Although often regarded as a disease of childhood, asthma is common in elderly people. Although recent figures show a decline over the past few years in the number of asthma deaths in children and younger adults, the same is not true of older adults, in whom most asthma deaths occur. Differences between asthma in young and old patients are seen not only in response to treatment.

Persistence of atopic effects on airway calibre and bronchial responsiveness in older adults.

Background: the relationships between atopy and chronic airflow obstruction and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in adults are unclear. We measured airways calibre (FEV1), bronchial responsiveness, eosinophil count and total serum IgE in a random population sample of adults aged 45 years or older.

Methods: Caucasian adults (n = 783) were selected from the practice lists of local general practitioners using random number tables.

Breast metastasis from non-small cell lung cancer.

Breast is an unusual site for metastatic disease, particularly for non-small cell lung cancer. We report an unusual case of metastatic breast lesions from a primary anaplastic lung tumor and discuss the common and uncommon sites of metastasis from lung carcinomas.

Community care and social services.

The aim of community care is to enable people with various types of disability to live in their own homes, rather than in institutions. This involves the provision of support and services at home by various agencies. After a critical report in 1986 identified problems with coordination and flexibility of community care services, the white paper Caring for People (1989) stated the government's aim to provide a "needs led," responsive range of services, promoting maximum independence of those wishing to live at home rather than enter institutional care.

Factors affecting oxygen saturation during methacholine challenge in a mixed population.

Bronchial challenge with methacholine or histamine is associated with a reduction in arterial oxygen tension, which can be appreciable. In this study, oxygen saturation was monitored during methacholine challenge in subjects with and without respiratory disease, over a wide age range, in order to identify factors predicting a large fall in saturation during the challenge. Two hundred and twenty subjects aged 24-86 years were included, comprising 15 healthy adult volunteers, and 205 adults from a random sample of the local adult population taking part in a survey of bronchial responsiveness.

Impact of obstructive airways disease on quality of life in older adults.

Background: Obstructive airways disease adversely affects quality of life, although relationships between quality of life and lung function have been shown to be weak. The relationships between the results of a quality of life questionnaire, spirometric tests, and methacholine bronchial challenge were investigated in a population sample of middle aged and elderly people.

Methods: A random population sample of the white population of Central Manchester, UK were contacted by post.

Prevalence and treatment of chronic airways obstruction in adults over the age of 45.

Background: Chronic airways obstruction is common in adults and the elderly. To investigate the possibility that older adults with obstructive airways disease frequently do not receive appropriate treatment, the respiratory symptoms, medication use, and pulmonary function were studied in a random sample of white adults aged over 45 living in central Manchester, UK.

Methods: A postal questionnaire survey was performed on 783 men and women aged 45 years and over selected from GP lists by random number tables.

Differential tumorigenicity of growth factor-dependent versus -independent CCL39 lung fibroblast lines in nude mice.

Several cell lines derived from CCL39 Chinese hamster fibroblasts were characterized so that comparison could be made of their tumorigenic potential and their ability to proliferate in vitro in response to growth factor stimulation. Tumor formation was assessed by implanting single-cell suspensions into the flanks (sc), peritoneal cavity (ip), or tail vein (iv) of BALB/c athymic nude mice, whose ages ranged from 8-10 days (neonatal), to 5-7 weeks (adult), to more than 5 months (old). Serum, insulin (INS), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and alpha-thrombin (THR) were tested for promoting short-term cell proliferation in serum-free medium.

Down's syndrome and maternal age in British Columbia, 1972--75.

The occurrence of Down's syndrome in British Columbia during the period 1972-75 is analyzed with respect to maternal age distribution. This period is compared with previously studied periods. No marked trends are evident in the various age group-specific rates studied.

Down syndrome in British Columbia, 1952-73: incidence and mean maternal age.

Records of children with Down syndrome (DS) at the BC Health Surveillance Registry were linked to their Birth Registrations to derive maternal ages. Incidence and maternal-age specific rates were calculated for 1952-73. Mean maternal age has declined both for normal and DS children, the latter to a marked degree, so that in 1972-73 80% were born to women under 35 years.

Incidence of phenylketonuria in British Columbia, 1950-1971.

The incidence of PKU in British Columbia in the 1950-1971 period is 1/18,750 which corresponds to that found in two other Canadian studies.(2, 3) Evidence is presented which shows a trend toward a decline in incidence; however, this is not statistically significant. There is a preponderance of male cases in all age groups.